Al Capone's Cicero: A Walking Tour of Prohibition-Era Historical Sites

Before we hit the pavement, let's get some context. In 1924, when Chicago's reformist mayor William Dever started cracking down on organized crime, Capone and his crew simply relocated their operations to neighboring Cicero. Smart move. They essentially took over the entire town government through intimidation, violence, and rigged elections. As a surfer, I'm used to territorial locals, but Capone took 'localism' to a whole new level.

What makes Cicero fascinating is how ordinary it looks today. These aren't grand monuments to crime – they're everyday buildings where extraordinary (and extraordinarily illegal) things happened. I brought along my historical map to help navigate between sites, which was clutch since some locations aren't well-marked. The contrast between the violent history and today's quiet streets gives the whole experience an eerie quality that no museum could replicate.

Our first stop was the former site of the Hawthorne Inn (now demolished) at 4833 W. 22nd Street (now Cermak Road). This hotel-restaurant combo served as Capone's headquarters after relocating from Chicago. While the original building is gone, standing on this spot gives you chills knowing what went down here.

In 1926, this very location was the target of a drive-by shooting attempt on Capone by rival gangsters from Chicago's North Side. Over 1,000 bullets were fired in broad daylight – the building's exterior was absolutely shredded, but somehow Capone escaped unharmed. I've had some gnarly wipeouts on big wave days, but nothing compares to dodging that kind of heat.

I recommend bringing a pair of polarized sunglasses to cut the glare while examining the historical markers and plaques throughout the tour. The area gets surprisingly bright with all the concrete and building reflections.

Next up was the site of the Western Hotel (1638 S. Cicero Avenue), one of Capone's most profitable speakeasies. While the original building has been replaced, this location was home to one of Cicero's most notorious gambling and drinking establishments. The nearby Anton Hotel (now also gone) housed Capone's brother Ralph's headquarters.

What struck me most was how these operations were hidden in plain sight. As a surfer, I'm familiar with the concept of locals-only spots that everyone pretends not to know about, but this was next level secrecy with actual lives at stake.

For this walking tour, I highly recommend bringing a insulated water bottle to stay hydrated. The Cicero streets offer little shade, and the walking between sites can be more taxing than expected, especially in warmer months. I filled mine with ice water before starting, and it stayed cold throughout our 4-hour exploration.

The most interesting part? Talking to a few local old-timers who shared stories passed down from grandparents who lived during Prohibition. One elderly gentleman outside a local diner pointed out unmarked doorways that once led to basement gambling operations. These unofficial additions to the tour were worth their weight in gold.

Our tour took an interesting turn when we visited the site of the former Western Electric Hawthorne Works, once employing over 40,000 workers manufacturing telephone equipment. While not directly tied to Capone, this massive industrial complex provided the economic backbone of Cicero and created the environment where organized crime could thrive – thousands of workers looking for entertainment after long shifts.

Today, a shopping center occupies the site, but the Hawthorne Works Museum inside Morton College preserves this important piece of local history. The museum gives crucial context to understand why Cicero became such fertile ground for Capone's operations.

For capturing the details of historical photographs and exhibits, I relied on my pocket magnifier which has been invaluable on this history-focused trip. The museum's dim lighting to protect artifacts makes this little tool essential for reading the fine print on historical documents.

What surprised me most was learning how intertwined legitimate business, labor unions, and organized crime became during this era. As someone who's always operated my chiropractic practice on the straight and narrow, it was fascinating to see how blurred these lines once were in American society.

The final stop on our tour was a bit different – the actual house where Al Capone's mother lived at 1413 S. Austin Boulevard (on the border of Cicero and Chicago). Capone purchased this modest brick home for his family, and while he didn't live there full-time, he was a frequent visitor.

Standing outside this ordinary-looking house gives you a strange feeling – it humanizes someone history has turned into a larger-than-life villain. The current owners are private citizens, so respect their property and view only from the sidewalk. I found myself thinking about Capone's dual existence – brutal gangster and family man – and how compartmentalized his life must have been.

For this history-heavy walking tour, I found my pocket notebook essential for jotting down interesting details and observations throughout the day. There's so much information to absorb that having a place to quickly note things made the experience much richer.

What I appreciated most about ending the tour here was the reminder that even notorious figures have ordinary aspects to their lives. As a Japanese-American whose grandparents faced internment during WWII, I've always been interested in how history often paints people and events in black and white, when reality contains countless shades of gray.