SECOND CITY
Old Town
The Second City’s second home, at 1846 North Wells Street, was a couple of blocks south of its first home, a storefront previously occupied by a Chinese laundry. Photo Credit: Chicago History Museum
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Bernie Sahlins writes about the early days of The Second City in his memoir, Days and Nights at the Second City. Sahlins passed away in 2013 at age 90.
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Read about the history of The Second City.
Read an excerpt from Sahlins’ memoir, Days and Nights at The Second City.
Today, The Second City is a legendary comedy powerhouse – the source of such great talents as Tina Fey, Stephen Colbert, and Steve Carell; before that, John Belushi, Gilda Radner, Bill Murray, and Dan Aykroyd; before that, Alan Arkin and Elaine May; and even before that, Bernard (Bernie) Sahlins, Paul Sills, and Howard Alk.
For those last three, you have to go back to the very beginning – to 1959, in Old Town, where it all began in a tiny storefront that had served most recently as a Chinese laundry, and reportedly had not notified its customers that it was leaving.
In Bernie Sahlins’ memoir, Days and Nights at The Second City, he explains:
The exit must have been precipitous: for several weeks after we took occupancy, people would knock and mournfully enter brandishing their laundry tickets. We were unable to help since Wong Cleaners & Dyers had left no forwarding address.
Of course, it’s always possible that Sahlins was improvising that last bit; it’s what he did for a living – and he did it ever so well.
The building that Wong Cleaners & Dyers and, of course, The Second City, did business in was later demolished to make way for a condominium tower. In fact, the entire block was obliterated, so you won’t even find the old address on a map.
Sahlins passed away in June 2013. You can visit The Second City at its current location at 1616 Wells Street, further south on the same street as the old Chinese laundry, and see the legacy Sahlins left, still going strong, 50 years and counting.
In her book Bossypants, Tina Fey remembers her days at The Second City: “The most fun I ever had was working at a theater in Chicago called The Second City.”Photo Credit: David Shankbone
The imposing terra cotta portraits on The Second City façade were salvaged from the Louis Sullivan-designed Schiller Theatre Building (aka Garrick Theater), which was demolished in 1960. Here is a fascinating article on who these four gentlemen are. Photo Credit: Chicago History Museum
In 1967, The Second City moved to its current home at 1616 Wells Street. The Second City entrance is toward the middle of the block (look for the arches and banner). Note that the Sullivan portraits have come with The Second City; they continue to preside over The Second City’s activities. Photo Credit: Chicago History Museum
