How do you get into The cellar?
We have not confirmed it. The cellar is in the directory because it calls itself a speakeasy, and that is the whole of what we can stand behind about its door.
Drinks of the era
We have not seen this venue’s own list, so what follows is the period rather than the bar: French 75, Clover Club, and Aviation are all drinks of this era, and each links to its origin and its build.
Where The cellar sits
Our record places The cellar in Will County, Illinois, in the Midwest of the United States. The source data carries coordinates and a county or region but no municipality, which usually means an address outside an incorporated city, or a record that was never given one. The map pin is the reliable part.
Illinois holds 71 listed venues in this directory. See them all on our Illinois speakeasy guide.
If you know which town The cellar is in, tell us and we will place it properly.
Prohibition in Illinois
Illinois came under national prohibition on 17 January 1920, when the Eighteenth Amendment took effect and the Volstead Act defined an intoxicating beverage as anything above one half of one per cent alcohol — a threshold strict enough to close breweries that had expected to survive.
More on the period in our history of Prohibition in Illinois.
What the newspapers recorded in Illinois
Searching the Library of Congress run of Illinois newspapers for speakeasy, blind pig and bootlegger across 1920 to 1933 returns dated pages anyone can open. These are from Illinois:
- The Rock Island Argus and daily union, April 27, 1920 — read the page at the Library of Congress
- The Chicago whip, May 29, 1920 — read the page at the Library of Congress
- Free trader-journal and Ottawa fair dealer, November 26, 1920 — read the page at the Library of Congress
- The Rock Island Argus and daily union, December 9, 1920 — read the page at the Library of Congress
Planning a visit
You can reach The cellar by phone on (815) 723-3791 and through its own website.
The address is 111 Patterson Rd, IL 60436. Open in Google Maps.
What we have confirmed
For The cellar we hold street address, telephone number, and official website. We do not yet hold social accounts, opening hours, a published drinks list, an online booking link, or a listed-building record.
It is in the directory because its own name places it below street level and the description in the source data describes it as a speakeasy.
Overture Maps carries this venue; OpenStreetMap has no matching record.
The source data classifies the premises as a bar.