Community Corner
Cursed Bricks, Noises, Poltergeists Of The St. Valentine's Day Massacre
It all came to a head in Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood on the morning of Feb. 14, 1929.
CHICAGO (CBS) — Do only fuzzy romantic feelings come to mind when you think of Valentine’s Day? How about if we call it St. Valentine’s Day? Throughout Prohibition in the 1920s, there were many beer and alcohol wars between rival gangs of organized criminals. Many of the men in charge of the gangs never ended up being prosecuted by federal authorities, because they did away with each other.
It all came to a head in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood on the morning of Feb. 14, 1929. As Troy Taylor’s historical essay “Blood, Roses and Valentines” recalls, the events that led up to the massacre started in 1924 with murder of gang leader Dion O’Banion, who was the chief competition to Chicago Outfit leader Johnny Torrio in the bootleg liquor business. O’Banion controlled the North Side operation, Torrio the South Side.
