Edwin's Roadhouse aka Al Capone's Miami Gardens

Edwin’s Roadhouse a.k.a. Capone’s MIAMI GARDENS

Edwin’s Roadhouse a.k.a.

Miami Gardens

Within these walls once walked some of the

most famous gangsters of all time.

Miami Gardens was a palatial roadhouse built in 1928 for Al Capone as his home away from home. Today it’s called Edwin’s and it’s still a roadhouse but one steeped in history. The establishment itself is a mile south of Peotone, Illinois, on Highway 50, a short drive from Chicago. It’s also near U. S. 41, which runs from Chicago to Miami, Florida, where Capone owned his estate. During Prohibition Capone’s minions of bootleggers kept Chicago “wet,” and the Gardens was a safe haven for other Chicago gangsters. In its heyday it masqueraded as a gas station with a row of pumps outside, but it had no outdoor signage. The downstairs featured a ballroom with a dance floor and a stage for bands and singers. It also provided white-gloved dining on everything from steaks to lobster, and a bar that served illegal booze in spite of Prohibition. The upstairs had casino gambling and a hallway lined with bedrooms for “ladies of the night.” Capone’s private office was a corner suite with a hand-painted mural depicting the flora and fauna of Florida. That’s still there, along with its elegant bathing facility of Nile Green tile, the same as in Capone’s Chicago headquarters at the Lexington Hotel. Also still there are the rooms for the Ladies and the gambling but the old Gardens now operates as a local tavern without a restaurant. In the old days its patrons arrived in town cars with pistols in their pockets, but nowadays it’s a tavern mainly for local residents, and for visitors who want to walk in the footsteps of Scarface Al Capone. Bill Helmer------ This Prohibition-Era building was erected in the late 1920’s by Henry A. Baumann, Innkeeper and Proprietor. It first opened in 1929 and was strategically located across from the Illinois Central Railroad and just 10 miles West of Lincoln Fields Racetrack, a premier host of top thoroughbred racing. Proprietor Baumann was no stranger to the early 20th Century Outfit. In 1910, his first tavern was located at 432 South Canal Street in Chicago, just one city block away from the first boarding house of Big Jim Colosimo. Baumann was an accomplished brew-master, his trade that later proved more useful to Al Capone during Prohibition, which began in 1920 and lasted until 1933. In 1928, Baumann purchased the tract of land that Miami Gardens sits on, and built three commercial buildings that provided as a prime meeting location within Capone’s Chicago Heights Territory and included lodging, fuel, fine dining, entertainment, and illegal booze. In 1992, Rio Burke, the surviving wife of a Capone top lieutenant, toured Edwin’s Roadhouse and provided us with first hand accounts about Capone, Nitti and others. This location is where the early 20th century mob would find safe harbor, food, entertainment and illegal booze; in a secret location just minutes away from the next legal jurisdiction. With secret tunnels, escape routes and hidden parking underneath the building, he built Miami Gardens for the most famous Prohibition-Era gangster of all times, Mr. Alphonse Gabriel Capone. The upstairs featured eleven rooms with some dedicated to the business of a brothel. A master suite included a custom shower containing seven shower heads, and unique decor made from nile green porcelain tiles with violet trim. In 1992, William J. Helmer, a well known author of several gangland crime books, was researching the famous outlaw John Herbert Dillinger. On March 3rd, 1934, Dillinger, after breaking out of the Crown Point Jail, escaped to Peotone with hostages, and then on to Miami Gardens to elude capture by the Peotone Posse. Read the full story here. Within Miami Gardens, The Secret Roadhouse of Al Capone, you will learn why we now know this was undoubtedly a true and original Al Capone Roadhouse. We have memorialized the history of Miami Gardens in this full color, seventy-six page booklet filled with facts and legends of its mobster and outlaw connections. William D. Towler------

On Sale Here Sept. 1st!

Miami Gardens The Secret Roadhouse of Al Capone by William D. Towler with Bill Helmer, Prohibition Author

On Sale Here Over The Counter