In the pantheon of legendary clubs, New York’s 300 Club occupies a spot very near the top of “classiest booze joint”. This club catered to the rich and glitzy crowds of New York City, and its lead emcee was a woman named Texas Guinan.
Mary Louise Cecilia Guinan was born in Waco, Texas, and spent her adolescent years in Colorado. In Denver, she learned how to play the organ for her local church and acted in several plays. That was foundation for an intriguing career in the entertainment business.
In 1906, she moved to New York where she got her true start as a chorus girl. She quickly moved into the rising art of Vaudeville Theater, where she was well received as “Texas” Guinan.
Her 300 Club was a haven for alcohol during the height of the prohibition, and she was arrested several times for serving liquor to her guests. She always avoided prosecution. Although her establishment also hosted 40 scantily clad girls dancing for men, during a time when such things were strictly forbidden, she would claim the size of the building made it impossible for a proper stage. Guests with liquor? They’d brought it with them when they came. How was she to know?
She had attitude, greeting her patrons with “Hello Suckers!”, and referring to the richer patrons as “butter and egg men”. She was a key player in the prohibition-era underworld, and appeared in several films before her death in 1933, exactly a month before the repeal of prohibition.
Phineas Upham is an investor from NYC and SF. You may contact Phin on his Phineas Upham website or Twitter page.