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Saturday, August 6, 2016

Say a Prayer for Hymie Weiss

I grew up on the south side of Chicago. As a kid I attended classes at the Chicago Art Institute. I also watched a line of policemen protected the first brave families to integrate the beach near our house. The good and the bad of Chicago is a part of my life story. 

When I was about eight, my father joined a plein-air painting group that visited several locations in Chicago's Loop. His paintings are embedded in my memory.

One of my favorites he called "Say a Prayer for Hymie Weiss".  It was Holy Name Cathedral on the corner of State and Superior near Chicago's water tower.  Hymie, an Irish Catholic who became a mob boss and leader of the North Side gang during Prohibition was Al Capone's bitter rival--"..the only man Al Capon feared." (wikipedia). 

On October 11, 1926 Capone's hit men shot Hymie and his buddies on the street. Legend has it that some bullets nicked the cornerstone of Holy Name Cathedral. 




Walking in my dad's footsteps, I found another spot that was the subject matter in his plein-air group -The Chicago Art Institute. My family still has the paining of this same scene done in oils by my dad.



The Ghery Amphitheater was built after my father's time, but it is definitely another Chicago landmark. We were treated to a balmy summer evening concert of Cole Porter tunes pouring forth from the sculpted metal amphitheater. Lit up with pink, blue and purple lights it was like stationary, melodic fireworks.  


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