Back to the Roaring ’20s with the Historical Society of Forest Park 

St. Angela School is more than a place where students learn—it is a community where children are known, supported, challenged, and encouraged to be It’s January 16, 1920, and Forest Park is getting ready for one last night of legal drinking! At midnight, Prohibition takes effect, banning the manufacture, sale, and transportation of intoxicating liquor. For a village known as the “Watering Hole of the Western Suburbs,” things are about to get interesting. Forest Park’s tavern culture was thriving before the ban. While neighboring Oak Park and River Forest embraced temperance, Forest Park became a destination for anyone looking for a drink. In Oak Park, temperance advocates enlisted Henry Austin to buy out the remaining taverns and reportedly dump their liquor down the sewer. Oak Park stayed dry until 1973! Forest Park, meanwhile, had 42 saloons when the 18th Amendment was passed. Each paid $500 for a liquor license, making Prohibition a serious financial blow to the village. Whe