At 6:15 on the last morning of his life ...

Today is not only a materialistic holiday, it is also the 78th anniversary of the most intriguing mystery in American crime history.

On this day in 1929, seven well-dressed men were found riddled with bullets inside the S-M-C Cartage Co. garage on the north side of Chicago. They had been lined up against a wall, with their backs to their executioners and shot to death. With the exception of Dr. Reinhardt H. Schwimmer, these men were mobsters working under the leadership of gangster and bootlegger, "Bugs" Moran.

Two uniformed policemen were seen exiting the garage while escorting two plain-clothed men who held their hands up in the air, as if they were under arrest. However, the Chicago police had no record of any such activity at 2122 N. Clark Street until they arrived on the scene to find the horrifying blood bath.

Although he claimed to be in Florida at the time of the murders, Al Capone was, without hesitation, the one and only suspect in this infamous crime.

One investigator on the scene found Frank Gusenberg lying amongst the bloody corpses, breathing heavily and choking on his own blood. Immediately, the unconscious victim was taken to the hospital where investigators waited with anticipation for their only possible lead to wake up and finger the men who were responsible. Their greatest fear was that he would die before they had the opportunity to question him, but eventually he did wake. When he was asked for the identity of the killer, he simply stated "I'm not gonna talk," before he laid his head back and died.

Al Capone was never arrested for the crimes; the mysterious gun men were never identified and Capone never graced a reader or interested member of the public with a confession. Instead, he was indicted for tax evasion and spent seven years in prison only to be released to retire in Florida, where he died from syphilis in 1947.

Chicago, in its own style, memorialized the warehouse on Clark Street. The place became a tourist attraction and the newspapers even printed the photos of the corpses upside-down so that readers would not have to turn their papers around to identify the bodies. In 1949, the front portion of the S-M-C garage was turned into an antique furniture storage business by a couple who had no idea of the building's bloody past. They soon found that the place was visited much more by tourists and curiosity-seekers than by customers -- and eventually closed the business.

In 1967, the building was demolished. However, the bricks from the bullet-marked rear wall were purchased and saved by a Canadian businessman. In 1972, he opened a night club with a Roaring 20's theme and rebuilt the wall, for some strange reason, in the men's restroom. Three nights each week, women were allowed to peek inside at this macabre attraction.

The club continued to operate for a few years and when it closed the owner placed the 417 bricks into storage. He then offered them for sale with a written account of the massacre. He sold the bricks for $1,000 each, but soon found that he was getting back as many as he sold. It seemed that anyone who bought one of the bricks was suddenly stricken with bad luck in the form of illness, financial ruin, divorce and even death.

The guns, weapons and evidence are currently being held at the Berrien County Sheriff Department in Michigan.


ABOVE: The Northside seven who were gunned down at the 2122 N. Clark Street garage in Chicago on Feb. 14, 1929
TOP: A CPD re-enactment of the St. Valentine's Day Massacre

Text taken from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Valentine's_Day_Massacre">Wiki</a>, <a href="http://www.mysterynet.com/vdaymassacre/">Mystery.net</a> and <a href="http://www.prairieghosts.com/valentine.html">Haunted Chicago</a>.

 

Finally. Someone has captured the true spirit of the day. Excellent work, Buck.

 

Ah, I get teary-eyed thinking of the good ole days. :'(

 

Thanks for the reminder, man. I had completely forgotten about the massacre. Really, just one of the most fascinating moments of the 20th century.

 

As it turns out, it's also the anniversary of the fight in 1951 where Sugar Ray Robinson defeated Jake LaMotta for the title.

 

A couple more Feb. 14 anniversaries, courtesy of Wikipedia:

1803 -- SCOTUS declares that any Congressional act that conflicts with the Constitution is void
1843 -- The event that inspired the Beatles song "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!" occurs
1859 -- Oregon admitted as the 33rd state
1912 -- Arizona admitted as the 48th state
1913 -- Mel Allen, Woody Hayes and Jimmy Hoffa are born (yes, all three on 2/14/13)
1920 -- League of Women Voters is founded in Chicago

 

How about that!

 

I love that damn movie, The St. Valentine's Day Massacre, that is. Jason Robards was great in the role of Capone. There were so many talented heavies (actors typecasted as bad guys), and even up coming soap opera stars (David Canary of "All My Children" and Clint Richtie of "One Life to Live") in that show.

But the one scene that always continue to have me glued is the attempted take out of Capone in the early part of the movie, when Pete Gusenberg (George Segal) walks out of the car and in a casual manner, kneels down with the Tommy Gun and start shooting up the restaurant when Capone was dining in. After emptying the cartridge, he gets up and strolls back to the car and leaves.

Pete Gusenberg was fucking crazy in that movie.

 

One of my favorites, and it's sitting on top of my VCR right now, ready for me to get home for work. It's an obvious tradition (ninth year in a row, IIRC), but a great one. ... Speaking of which, can anybody find that flick on DVD? My VHS copy still plays fine, but I'd love to find a remastered version.

Robards was fantastic. ("A great big RED valentine's!") ... But for me, it's the narrator's voice that I can't get out of my head.

 

I still can't find it on DVD. If they ever do put it on DVD, they should remaster and retouch the footage. That would be the one DVD I will keep forever. It'll be on AMC on Feb. 27th at 3:15 EST.

 

What is the 78th anniversary?



Anniversary................Traditional Gift................Modern Gift
First...........................Paper.............................Clocks
Second.......................Cotton...........................China
Third..........................Leather..........................Crystal / Glass
Fourth........................Fruit / Flowers................Appliances
Fifth...........................Wood.............................Silverware
Sixth..........................Candy / Iron...................Wood
Seventh.....................Wool / Copper.................Desk Sets
Eighth Bronze.............Pottery...........................Linens / Lace
Ninth.........................Pottery / Willow...............Leather
Tenth........................Tin / Aluminum................Diamond Jewelry
Eleventh....................Steel...............................Fashion Jewelry
Twelfth......................Silk/Linen........................Pearls
Thirteenth..................Lace................................Textiles / Furs
Fourteenth.................Ivory...............................Gold Jewelry
Fifteenth....................Crystal.............................Watches
Twentieth..................China................................Platinum
Twenty-Fifth..............Silver................................Silver
Thirtieth....................Pearl.................................Diamond
Thirty-Fifth................Coral.................................Jade
Fortieth.....................Ruby.................................Ruby
Forty-Fifth.................Sapphire...........................Sapphire
Fiftieth......................Gold..................................Gold
Fifty-Fifth..................Emerald............................Emerald
Sixtieth.....................Diamond...........................Diamond