This is an exterior shot of The Famous Door from the mid-to-late-1940s, after it had moved to North Adams Street, a more respectable address than North Washington Street. On North Adams Street, The Famous Door was surrounded by an eclectic mix of businesses — a barber shop, a laundry, a chicken hatchery, the local Salvation Army, and the restaurant the Rochester Cafe.
Peoria
A digital companion to the biography Becoming Richard Pryor
Date: c. 1947
Citation:
Photograph of the exterior of the Famous Door. Courtesy of Barbara McGee.
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1. Trailblazers of the Red Light District (1870s-1930s)
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Adaline Cole, Colored Queen of Peoria’s Underworld
–1870s-1890s–Ad Cole, 19th-century madam, brought glamour and audacity to North Washington St.
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Eaton Street, home of Diamond Lil’s resort
–1930s–The street in the red-light district where Marie Pryor settled — and where Peoria's most famous 20th-century madam plied her trade
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Diamond Lil
–9/28/1930–A brief history of the end of Diamond Lil
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“Diamond Lil” Found In Cell; Keeps Silence
–12/27/1931–Diamond Lil, a black madam in Peoria, was squeezed by the DA but refused to name names
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A Prostitute at the Window
–5/1938–From the famed camera of Arthur Rothstein: a Peoria prostitute peeks out at the street
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North Washington Street
–1938–The block, in the red-light district, where Pryor was raised
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Miss Diamond Lil’
–2/2011–An account of the rise and fall of Diamond Lil', a well-connected black madam in 1920s and 1930s Peoria
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2. The Empire of Vice in Its Heyday (1920s-1930s)
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Peoria Grand Jury Condemns Dry Terrorism
–9/30/1925–Federal agents were condemned in Peoria for their violent tactics
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The Peoria Protest
–10/4/25–Prohibition seemed to many Peorians a violation of fundamental human rights
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Peoria Busier Than Ever But Much Drier
–9/8/26–Early on, Peoria was “the city of high spirits,” a center for the distillery business
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Old Peoria: As Wide Open As The Gateway To Hell
–4/14/1956–From the newspaper of the All-American city, a guided tour of the old “Empire of Vice”
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Old Peoria: Fixed Cops, Gang Murders, Kidnapping
–4/15/56–Reformed Peoria looked back at days of gangland kidnappings and murder
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This Was Peoria
–4/15/56–Editorial looking back to the “liberal” days of Peoria
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‘The Good Old Woodruff Days’
–6/26/76–Three decades after the decline of Roarin' Peoria, some still missed “the Good Old Days”
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Historic Site (last house of prostitution)
–5/8/1980–The last remains of Prarie Alley were demolished in 1980
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3. WWII Jolts the Red Light District (1941-1942)
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Council-Mayor Fight Widens
–12/17/1941–In late-1941 Mayor Woodruff and Peoria's city council feuded over the protection of vice in the city
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Attention Citizens!
–3/5/1942–The Jaycees led the attack against the red-light district
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Peoria Vice Hit By Government
–3/18/1942–The Christian Century editorialized against Peoria as “the sinkhole of midwestern vice”
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Carson Orders Resorts Closed
–5/8/1942–Illinois's State Attorney stepped in where Peoria's mayor did not, attacking the red-light district
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4. Bustle and Trouble (1943-1944)
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Plan Fight on Social Disease
–11/19/1943–All of Illinois law enforcement was marshalled to stamp out vice in Peoria
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Two Women Held In Vice Check Up
–11/21/1943–After the military threatened a further crackdown, Peoria police took action
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City Council Targets Social Diseases
–11/30/1943–The city council urged the Mayor to work with the US Army to fight vice
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Council Votes Cleanup Power
–12/1/1943–The health department was empowered to inspect anyone thought to have VD
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Vice Termed As Sabotage
–12/07/1943–Ministers called vice “sabotage” and accused Peoria's citizens of thwarting the war effort
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Mayor Woodruff: More Penicillin Needed
–10/10/1944–A $1000 order of penicillin was urged to combat the city's growing “social problem”
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5. Sin City Moves Up and Out (1945-1950)
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The Pryor Family at the Famous Door
–c. 1945–The Pryor family diversified its operations, becoming proud owners of a tavern in the mid-40s
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Jury Urges Nine Taverns Closed
–2/15/1945–A grand jury widened the crusade against vice to the taverns frequented by prostitutes
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TIME Magazine: By the River
–2/26/1945–Peoria had been “the biggest little wide open town in the Midwest,” but what was next for the city?
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An Exceptional Spectacle
–c. 1946–Two snappily dressed interracial couples enjoy a night at the Famous Door
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Famous Door Exterior
–c. 1947–An unidentified group — perhaps from the extended Pryor family — standing outside The Famous Door
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Gamblers Tell Why They Quit Peoria Rackets
–10/20/1948–New Mayor took the profit out of gambling
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Fire Gutted Tavern To Be Replaced by Modern Structure
–11/24/1949–Collins lost his first tavern to fire, but rebuilt the building and business
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Old Peoria Was ‘Right’ for Sheltons…
–4/16/1957–The killing of the head of a gambling syndicate, in 1948, gave a huge boost to Peoria's reformers
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6. The Pryor Family in the Mix (1950-1953)
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Ann and Buck Drinking With Friends
–1950s–Richard's father and stepmother, on the town with some sharp-dressed friends
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Ann Stepping Out On the Town
–1950s–Richard's stepmother Ann, in a happy time and a sophisticated place
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Aiken Alley in the Early 1950s
–4/3/1951–A Happy Family in Aiken Alley
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Eight Arrested Here in Narcotics Raid
–4/8/1953–Richard's Uncle Dickie was netted in Peoria's first major drug sting in years
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8 Jailed Here in Narcotic Raid
–4/9/53–Uncle Dickie was arrested with heroin and marijuana, and under suspicion of turning women to prostitution
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Bell Captured in St. Louis on Dope Charges
–4/10/1953–Jimmy Bell, a band leader at the Famous Door, fled to St. Louis when his partner was caught in drug bust
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7. Reform vs. the Players of N. Washington St. (1953-1963)
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Bris Collins’ Tap Raided, Closed; Baseball Pool Czar Fined $1,000
–5/23/1953–“Cleaning up Peoria” meant more raids on Bris Collins' place
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Collins Gets Year, Day On Money Count
–7/2/1954–After 3 years and 2 hung juries, Collins was given the minimum sentence
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Joe Eagle Indicted on Lie Charges
–7/2/1954–Joe Eagle, a fellow N. Washington St. brothel owner, was charged with perjury and tax evasion
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Bris Collins Surrenders to Serve Term
–9/11/1954–Collins, labeled as the “racket boss of Peoria,” took a one-year prison term
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Is it True What They Say About Peoria?
–mid-1950s–Whisper Magazine punctured Peoria's reputation as an All-American city
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The Town That Reformed
–10/1/1955–Reform meant a new, professionalized city management, but did not go uncontested
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Cop in Closet Sees Bribe
–6/26/1961–Parker tried to “set things right,” but instead he lost his liquor license
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Harold’s Club Liquor License Revoked
–7/21/1961–Peoria's Mayor threatened the livelihood of Harold's Club by taking away its liquor license
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Day v. Illinois Liquor Commission
–1/24/1963–Mayor Day did everything in his power to shut down Harold Parker's club
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8. The Pryor Family Tries to Dodge the Law (1965-1968)
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Prostitution Counts Name 5 Defendants
–9/10/1965–When police raided the brothel of Richard's father and stepmother, Buck ran and Ann stayed
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Guilty Verdict in Trial of Alleged ‘Madam’
–10/6/1965–Ann, already sick with cancer, was sentenced to jail time for running a brothel
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Convicted Madam Out as Student
–10/8/1965–Richard's stepmother Ann, accused in court of being a "madam," was kicked out of a local vocational school
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5 of 10 Vice Raid Counts Dismissed
–11/10/1965–Buck avoided jail time by evading police during a raid
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Appelate Court Upholds Vice Count Conviction
–9/24/1966–A year after her arrest, Ann's conviction was upheld by 2-1 vote in appeals court
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Upholds Ruling In Vice Case
–10/3/1967–Ann was ultimately sentenced to a year for prostitution, but did not live to serve the term
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Vice Raid Nets Man, 56, Woman
–11/15/1967–Buck arrested for 3rd time in as many years for running a brothel
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Prostitution Case Fines Total $700
–3/5/1968–In the year before his death, Buck was still getting arrested in vice squad raids
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