History in Little Village
Vintage Restaurants
Home Run Inn
Vincent and Mary Grittani opened a tavern here in 1923 and named it the "Home Run Inn" because baseballs had a way of flying out of the park across the street and shattering their front window at 4254 West 31st Street in the Little Village neighborhood of Chicago. Vincent and Mary had a daughter, Loretta, who married an Italian immigrant named Nick Perrino.
History in Little Village
Alumni
Farragut Career Academy
Farragut Career Academy was founded in 1894 at 2345 South Christiana Avenue, and named for David Farragut, who served as First Admiral in the United States Navy during the Civil War. Its alumni include Kevin Garnett (who won an NBA title with the Boston Celtics in 2008), Pat Sajak (best known as host of the TV show “Wheel Of Fortune”), and Ernie Terrell (former heavyweight boxing champion and brother of Jean Terrell, who sang with the Supremes in the 1970s).
History in Little Village
Mobsters
Al Capone--Office At Hawthorne Hotel
Al Capone was one of the most notorious gangsters in U.S. history. He and his henchmen made their money primarily by bootlegging and operating casinos and speakeasies in the "roaring twenties." He was on Chicago's first "most wanted" list, and he became the face of 1920s American gangster violence. Capone made the suburban Hawthorne Hotel at this location one of his many business headquarters.