The building , at 678 N. Orleans St. ( 700N , 300W ) , Chicago , Illinois , United States , was erected in 1872 by James McCole , just one year after the Great Chicago Fire . It has a wooden frame , a building technique outlawed in the Central Business District by an ordinance passed by Chicago City Council shortly afterwards . The original tenant was Lawrence P. Elk , who used the ground floor as a grocery store and lived upstairs . It was converted to a dining establishment , the Huron-Orleans Restaurant , run by Vito Giacomoni , in 1921 . His sons Jack and Nello ran it as a speakeasy during the prohibition
Great Chicago Fire
Great Chicago Fire
Green Door Tavern