Schaller’s Original Pump, at 3714 South Halsted Street, was opened in 1881 by George “Harvey” Schaller and is the oldest bar and restaurant in Chicago, Illinois. It is a local landmark in the Chicago South Side neighborhood of Bridgeport and remains owned and operated by the founder’s descendants.
Contents
History
Harvey Schaller emigrated from Germany and moved to the South Side neighborhood of Bridgeport in 1881, at a time when Bridgeport's chief industry was meat slaughtering. Schaller opened his pub at the intersection of 37th and Halsted Streets, in the then mostly German Hamburg section of Bridgeport, just a few blocks from the Union Stockyards. For decades, Schaller’s served lunch to crowds of Stockyard workers.
Some resources indicate that Schaller's “Pump” designation dates back to Prohibition, when the two-story brick building housed a speakeasy, and beer was allegedly pumped in from a brewery next door (the Ambrosia Brewing Co.) directly to the beer taps at Schaller’s, enabling its bartenders to reduce on-hand inventory. Schaller’s still has a working peephole from Prohibition times on one of its old doors.[13] Others believe that the “Pump” designation dates back to the Union Stockyard days, when patrons would bring their horses to a watering trough located in front of Schaller’s—which was filled with water from a pump.
Across the street from Schaller’s, for the past 70 years, is the 11th Ward Democratic headquarters, which made Schaller’s the unofficial headquarters for Bridgeport’s legacy of Chicago mayors, including Edward Joseph Kelly (1933-47), Martin H. Kennelly (1947-55), Richard J. Daley (1955-76), Michael Anthony Bilandic (1976-79), and Richard M. Daley (1989-2011).
Current
Jack Schaller, a WWII veteran born in 1924, is the current proprietor and grandson of the founder. He has lived upstairs from the establishment since 1978. Five of eight of Jack’s children presently run the business.
Schaller’s Original Pump remains a local landmark in Bridgeport, and serves as a popular venue for weekly live music and local support of the nearby Chicago White Sox.
Notable Events
Scenes from the 1948 movie Call Northside 777, starring James Stewart, were filmed inside and across the street from Schaller’s.
The back dining room at Schaller's was used for a horse bookmaking operation until well into the 1960s.
In the 1980s, a car drove into the original front doors of Schaller’s. In the 1990s, a dump truck drove through the front façade of the building, destroying the second iteration of the front doors.