Online development: Ryan Marx // Videos and photos: Christopher Smith // Vintage photos from The Times' archive
Welcome to the virtual tour of Sin Strip.
Click on an item to learn more of the story.
The Zig-Zag Club
Use the Then & Now viewer to see how Sin Strip used to be and how it is today.
More of the Zig-Zag
Use the Then & Now viewer to see how Sin Strip used to be and how it is today.
State Line Road and State Street
Use the Then & Now viewer to see how Sin Strip used to be and how it is today.
John's Pizzeria's sign
Use the Then & Now viewer to see how Sin Strip used to be and how it is today.
The kitchen in John's Pizzeria
Use the Then & Now viewer to see how Sin Strip used to be and how it is today.
A success story
Use the Then & Now viewer to see how Sin Strip used to be and how it is today.
The dining room in John's Pizzeria, No. 1
See the dining room as it was originally, and what it looked like in the 70s.
The dining room in John's Pizzeria, No. 2
See how the dining room looked in the 70s and how it is today.
A panorama
Take a look around - literally - at the intersection of State Street and Forsythe Avenue. This spot was home to such clubs as the Chesterfield, Four Aces and John's Pizzeria. Click and drag your mouse on the image to rotate it. Explore all 360 degrees.
Friendship was a way of life
Friendship was the way of life on the old Sin Strip. Growing up, retired Calumet City police officer Tony Lucito Sr. always knew he could find his dad at the corner of State Street and Wentworth Avenue.
"There was a bit of sadness"
Former Calumet City Mayor Jerry Genova describes the connections he and his family had to Sin Strip.
"What did I get myself into?"
Former Calumet City Mayor Jerry Genova explains his motivation for establishing the TIF district: prostitution, deficits and homicides. Genova and the City Council pushed for an aggressive approach.
"We didn't have all these luxuries"
Doreen's Gourmet Pizza is a success story and one of the first businesses to take advantage of the TIF district. Doreen's built at the site of the old Chesterfield and Will-Joe's clubs.
The Whiskey-A-Go-Go comes down
The Whiskey-A-Go-Go was torn down in September 1995. Click on a photo to see a larger version.
"There were strip clubs down the street ... big deal"
Cook County Judge Ed Antonietti talks about the friendly atmosphere of the strip when he was a kid.
"There was prosperity in the area"
John Bacino describes Calumet City as the playground of hard-working people.
"You miss the good people"
John Bacino describes State Street as he remembers it - and how he misses it.
The TIF district
Sally Rand and her famous fans
Born Harriet Helen Gould Beck in Hickory County, Mo., Sally Rand was a burlesque dancer and actress who rose to fame in the 1920s.
She became known on stage and in film for her fan dance - in which she seductively used two, large ostrich feather fans - and balloon bubble dance. Her most notable performance was at the Chicago World's Fair in 1933, though she graced the stage at The Riptide on Calumet City's Sin Strip on at least one occasion.
She performed well into her 60s and died in 1979 at the age of 75.
Dozens of clubs and taverns called Sin Strip Home. Mapped here are many, but not all, of them from the 1940s onward. Some locations changed owners. Others lasted until the very end. Roll your mouse over the red dots to see which club was where.
"Everybody knew everybody"
It was a town of taverns, Tony Lucito Sr. explains, so of course camaraderie was high. As Calumet City police officers, Lucito's and Jerry Janiga's jobs' were pretty simple.
"Calumet City was not just the strip, it was much,
much more ... a great little town to grow up in."
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