In the early 1900s, Glen Ellyn was enjoying the prosperity that comes from having been discovered as a pleasant resort community by Chicagoans weary of the bustle of the big city. It also was about that time when a reform-minded Chicago mayor, Carter Harrison, ordered the closing of Chicago’s numerous houses of ill repute. Among them was the luxurious Arena Hotel on Michigan Avenue owned by Emily Rieck (pronounced “Reeck”).
But Madame Rieck was a step ahead of Mayor Harrison. She and her husband had visited Glen Ellyn with its scenic lake and convenient rail service. She had found a home, Dr. Samuel Lundgren’s dark Victorian mansion at the northwest corner of Crescent Boulevard and Riford Road. She purchased it, remodeled it extensively and added beautiful landscaping. The house already had a ballroom for dancing. With a few tweaks, this ballroom doubled as a gambling parlor, another revenue source for the enterprising Madame.
Faced with a growing clientele, she soon expanded her operation by building a large guest house at Plum Tree Road, just east of the Lundgren home. Both of these dwellings were a short walk from the Taylor Avenue train stop, a great convenience for gentlemen visiting from Chicago.
