the death of al capone's dentist and a reliance building engineer's key ring

it never ceases to surprise that the smallest artifacts can hold the most expansive histories. this week a simple object --a brass key ring from the reliance building-- unveiled an iconic narrative from an era when chicago served as territory to some of the most notorious gangsters.

even hotel burnham, in the historic reliance building, acknowledges that it houses a strange history of homicide in room 809. what is now a guest room in the boutique hotel used to be the office of al capone's dentist, where "dr. frank" brady kept his practice and eventually met untimely death at the hands of his associates. guests who stay in the room can opt for a package deal that partakes in several capone-themed activities.

the circular key ring is delicately incised "reliance building" and "8th floor", and curiously features several punched out key holes as well as at least one crudely mis-stamped room number. the nicely aged brass ring, belonging to the 8th floor, represents a section of the building where office spaces were slotted specifically for physicians, dentists and health professionals. the building itself was one of the first skyscrapers to offer electricity and phone service in all of its offices. it also set design precedent by using large plate glass windows on its major surface areas, an aspect that provided natural lighting on all floors. this undoubtedly benefited the practices of healthcare professionals who took up residence there, as the light allowed for better visibility during medical exams, and the white terra cotta doubly projected a hygienic image to tenants and their patients.

as it happens, in the late 1920's and 1930's prohibition-era, physicians and other professionals served as reputable frontsmen to hide the business activities of organized crime. doctors were prime connections for gangs to have in that they could access narcotics and knew a great deal about the chemistry of explosives.

by the mid-1920's al capone controlled speakeasies, bookie joints, gambling houses, brothels, horse and race tracks, nightclubs, distilleries, breweries and more; he was a veritable head of industry during this period. he not only maintained a network of spies in the city to foil any plots against him, but skillfully assassinated his enemies. a typical capone murder consisted of men renting an apartment across the street from the victim's residence and gunning him down as he stepped outside. capone headquartered in chicago at the four deuces, at 2222 s. wabash and at the metropole hotel at 2300 s. michigan avenue. he additionally maintained headquarters in the suburbs, where he pretended to be an antique dealer and a doctor as a front.

on april 29th, 1929 a headline in the milwaukee journal broke the news, "al capone dentist is slain by two gangsters in his own office". the article states, "in an atmosphere of the respected profession which allegedly masked an alliance with the underworld, dr. frank l. brady, 32-year old dentist, was killed wednesday night, presumably for a gangland betrayal. dr. brady's connection with "scarface" al capone, a client, and his band of beer runners and vice promoters was revealed thursday by capt. william schoemaker, former chief of detectives."

brady had apparently been questioned by police prior to his death, regarding the infamous st. valentine's day massacre, in which seven mobsters associated with bugs moran were killed at 2122 north clark street, in the lincoln park neighborhood. according to investigators, brady was unquestionably the professional man serving as a "coverup" to some of capone's enterprises, and was also likely used for his professional services.

the dramatic killing of capone's dentist was described by a patient in the next room, "mrs. edna walsh, whose tooth the dentist had extracted a few minutes before the two gunmen strode into his office, said the man who shot the dentist was "pasty faced," the drug addict type. a man with a jumping toothache was in the dentist's chair in an adjacent room. mrs. walsh and dr. r.b. best, a professional associate, stood by in dr. brady's private office while the dentist was killed."

the news story elaborates, "within two hours after the murder detectives claimed they had uncovered an amazing story of the dual life of a reputable dentist whose criminal associations led back through nearly 10 years' dealings with safe blowers, dope peddlers and gangsters. dr. brady, they said, had compounded an acid which erased characters on stolen securities; he was the son of mrs. anna beauchamp, an alleged decoy of a notorious bank robber, henry j. (midget) fernekes, and had dealt with fernekes after his mother had committed suicide when her associations with the robber were revealed at his trial. at the bureau of criminal identification it was said that dr. brady, as dr. frank black, was arrested for automobile theft in 1918 but was released on probation because he was a student. further records revealed that he had been arrested in the roundup of fernekes' gang and accused of disposing of thousands of dollars of securities obtained in robberies by the gangsters. he was released, but for years his telephone wires were tapped by police. police had two theories for the slaying. one was that the dentist was slain for betraying his associates in disposing of quantities of bonds or because he refused to aid fernekes in an attempt to escape from joliet prison, where the "midget" now is confined. the other was that he was slain by addicts whom he had supplied with drugs."

on its own this metal ring is a small artifact of a nineteenth century architectural gem. however, the city's material history can always be doubled by events contained in its storied structures. a key ring can straightforwardly unlock a single building, or on closer inspection, become a portal to a time when chicago was a smoky city with horse drawn carts, or to a "lawless" prohibition-era with a violent and thriving vice industry.

thanks to peter buol for inadvertently inspiring me to write this post.