THE ELSA BURKE RESTAURANT - THE FINEST FOOD - GRACIOUS SERVICE - Elsa Burke

I have mentioned in the past that I search ebay on a daily basis for memorabilia from my hometown, Evanston, Illinois.  The other day this matchbook showed up:

I had never heard of Elsa Burke or her restaurant.  I checked with my friend and researcher extraordinaire Mike Kelly and he drew a blank also.  Then I decided to post a query in the Facebook group "You Know You're From Evanston, Il When?????"  When I posted it to Facebook I pointed out that the 1639 Orrington address meant that the restaurant had been in the Library Plaza Hotel, and was in fact the predecessor to the John Evans Restaurant. 

The people who responded to my Facebook query remembered the John Evans Restaurant, the Dominion Room and Vera Megowen's restaurant but no one remembered the Elsa Burke restaurant.  So let's see what we can "dig up" about Elsa Burke and her restaurant.

First off, Elsa Burke was born Elsa Julia Lachman in Chicago on November 10, 1902 to  Alexander Lachman (1858-????) and Anna Elsa Julia Adelheid Fuchs (1860-1927).  Alexander Lachman was a silversmith by trade and had come to the US from his native Inonorazlane, Germany in 1880.  Through the years he also reported his occupation as "Jeweler," and "Smelter."

Anna Elsa Julia Adelheid Fuchs had been born in Berlin.  She came to the US in 1871.

Alexander Lachman and Elsa Fushs (sic) were married in Laporte, Indiana on September 12, 1902.  Alex was Jewish, Elsa was a Lutheran.  It does not appear that they had any children other than "our" Elsa.

The 1905 Wisconsin State Census shows the Lackimann (sic) family living in Milwaukee.  The family consisted of Alex (age 46), Elsa (47) and their daughter Elsa (2).  Alex reported his occupation as "Jeweler."  The parents were born in Germany, the daughter in Illinois.  They were renting their home, and Alex reported he had worked the entire previous twelve months. 

In May of 1906 it was reported that Elsa Sr. and Elsa Jr, had been "kidnapped."  This is from the Wisconsin News Section of the Minneapolis (MN) Journal from 26 May 1906:

By 1910 Alex and Elsa were divorced and the two Elsas had moved to Chicago.  

The 1910 US Census shows the 2 Elsas living at 4528 North Forty-Third Avenue (now 4528 North Kildare) in Chicago:

4528 N. Kildare, Chicago

Elsa Sr. reported that she was fifty years old and a widow.  (She was not - Alex was alive and well in Milwaukee).  She said she had only one child and that child was alive in 1910.  Young Elsa was reported as being seven years old.  They owned their house free and clear.  Elsa Sr. reported her occupation as "Housework," and the Industry as "Working Out." 

The 1920 US Census shows the two Elsas still living at 4528 N. Kildare.  Elsa Sr. was now 59, young Elsa was 17.  Elsa Sr. now admitted that she was "Divorced," and said she had been born in Berlin, Germany.  Her occupation was "Housework by Day."  Elsa Sr's mother tongue was German but she did speak English.  She still owned the property but now had a mortgage.  Young Elsa was "In School", and had no occupation.

In 1922, Elsa Lachman married restaurateur William Carl Bank (1880-1933).  The bride was 21; the groom was 43.  Bank had been married previously and had a son.  On August 5, 1923 William and Elsa's son Wayne Chatfield Bank (1923-2012) was born.  On August 30, 1924 their daughter Gloria Maria Bank (1924-1992) was born.  

An interesting aside: When he registered for the draft in 1918, William C. Bank reported that he was a "Steward" in the restaurant of James Colosimo at 2128 S. Wabash Avenue in Chicago.  For those who don't know, "Big Jim" Colosimo was a Street Sweeper, Street Inspector, Pimp, Gambling Boss, Saloonkeeper, and Restaurateur.  Here is a photo of his restaurant:

Colosimo was gunned down at his restaurant on May 11, 1920.  It is not known if William Bank was on the premises at the time.

The 1930 US Census shows the Bank family living at 5160 N. Leavitt in Chicago:

5160 N. Leavitt, Chicago

                                                                                                                                                

The family consisted of William (49 years old), Elsa (27), Wayne (6), and Gloria (5).  The Banks rented their apartment for $70.00 per month, and did own a radio.  William was a "Stewart" (Steward) in a Restaurant.  

On November 15, 1933, William C. Bank died in Chicago.  He was fifty-three years old.  Here is his Death Notice from the Chicago Tribune of November 16, 1933:

William C. Bank was buried in Irving Park Cemetery in Chicago, in the Meadow Section - Row 25, Grave 201.  Unfortunately his grave is not marked:

 

It is interesting to note that William Bank's wife and son from his first marriage indicated their last name was "Banks" not "Bank".  William's first wife is buried under a tombstone that says "Jane C. Banks" and William Jr's tombstone says "William C. Banks."      

On January 23, 1934, less than two months after the death of her first husband, Elsa Lachman Bank married again - this time to Harry Eugene Burke (1899-1963).  They were married in the County Building by Judge Herbert S. Anderson.  Harry Burke worked for years as a Clerk for the Chicago Board of Trade; by the time of his marriage to Elsa he worked for the Department of Finance of the State of Illinois.  The bride was 31; the groom was 35.  This was the first marriage for Harry Burke.

I was unable to find Elsa or Harry Burke in the 1940 US Census, but when Harry registered for the Draft in 1943 he gave his address as 1511 W. Jackson Boulevard in Chicago:

1511 West Jackson Boulevard, Chicago

For the space on the Draft Registration form that asked "Name and Address of Person Who Will Always Know Your Address," Harry did not list his wife - instead he listed his brother Raymond.

But things must have improved in the Burke Household because on December 4, 1946 Elsa Burke gave birth to twin boys in Evanston, Illinois:  Bruce Bank Burke (1946-2009) and Harry Bank Burke (b. 1946).  Another strange occurrence was Elsa giving her boys the middle name of "Bank" which was the last name of her first husband.

In later years when she was interviewed, Elsa Burke said she had been in the restaurant business in "Chicago and Oak Park since 1937."  She may have fudged this date a little because the first mention I could find of Elsa Burke in connection  with a restaurant was on April 29, 1945 when she put an ad in the Chicago Tribune:

Here is the 29 S. LaSalle Street Building.  It was also known as The Insurance Exchange Building.  Elsa Burke's Restaurant was in the lobby.

29 S. LaSalle Street, Chicago

Elsa Burke also advertised for waitstaff:

And she even offered to hire a young man and teach him the restaurant business:

It was during this period that Elsa Burke moved to Mundelein, Illinois - to Countryside Lake, the Samuel Insull development.  Although Insull was no longer involved by the time Elsa Burke moved to Countryside Lake, the development offered Insull’s idyllic vision of large country-estate living surrounded by nature and offering an abundance of recreational activities such as hunting, fishing, boating, hiking, and horse riding. Insull also created the Countryside Golf Course, the first public course in Lake County.  

It is not known whether Elsa was still married to Harry Burke at this point, but he and Elsa were probably, at the least, separated.  We do know that Elsa and the twins were living in Mundelein together.  This is from the Chicago Tribune from 26 Oct 1949:

Unfortunately we don't know if the boys' dog was ever returned to them, but I suspect he was not because of this item from the Chicago Tribune of 24 Nov 1949:

Things didn't work for Elsa and the twins because the judge awarded the monkey to a disabled Navy Veteran.  This is from the Boston (MA) Globe of 16 Dec 1949:

In 1951, Elsa Burke opened her second restaurant in downtown Chicago - this time at 224 S. Michigan Avenue, The Railway Exchange Building.  It was called The Williamsburg House and Garden Restaurant.  Like the restaurant at 29 S. LaSalle, this restaurant was also in the lobby.

224 S. Michigan Avenue, Chicago

And like her other restaurant, this one was not open nights, weekends or holidays, allowing Elsa to spend time raising her twin boys, in all likelihood by herself.  Here is an ad from the Williamsburg House & Garden Restaurant from September 11, 1953:

Both restaurants were very successful, catering to the thousands who commuted every day to downtown Chicago to work.  As time went on however, the Michigan Avenue location seemed to become Elsa's base of operation as evidenced by this ad she ran in the Chicago Tribune on February 13, 1951:

Again, history does not record whether Elsa ever got her purse back, but we hope she did.  As indicated in the ad, Elsa's mother had indeed passed away - on September 15, 1927.  She was buried at Oakwoods Cemetery, on Chicago's south side.  After divorcing Elsa's father, she never remarried.

Unfortunately, Elsa's losing her purse was not a one-time event.  Here's an ad she placed in the Chicago Tribune of August 9, 1951:

At least this time the purse (probably) did not contain family heirlooms and important papers.

By 1953 Elsa Burke was a successful restaurateur.  She owned and operated two restaurants in downtown Chicago after making the long commute every day from her home in Mundelein.  She may or may not have been divorced at this time but she was raising her twin sons on her own.  Then her life changed significantly one day when she heard that Vera Megowen was moving her restaurant out of the Library Plaza Hotel on Orrington Street in Evanston.  You may remember that the Library Plaza Hotel was built by Victor Carlson as part of his transformation of downtown Evanston in the 1920s:

https://undereverytombstone.blogspot.com/2015/10/he-left-his-mark-on-downtown-evanston.html

The Library Plaza Hotel:

       

Evanston was a very upscale suburb of Chicago in the 1950s and Elsa felt that she could do very well serving meals to Evanston residents and the numerous visitors each year who were connected in some way to Northwestern University.  She found out that Vera Megowen would be vacating as of August 31, 1953.  Elsa Burke jumped at the chance and opened her third area restaurant "The Elsa Burke Restaurant" just ten days later, on September 10, 1953.  She explained that the restaurant would have to be renovated to her standards but she would serve Evanstonians while the renovations were going on.  Here is the announcement from the Evanston Review of  September 3, 1953:

From the very start of her time in Evanston, Elsa Burke ran ads for her restaurant in the Evanston Review, the local weekly that used to report all the goings-on around town.  Elsa served Luncheon daily from 11 to 2:30, Afternoon Tea from 2:30 to 4:30, and Dinner from 5 to 8.  Unlike how she ran her downtown Chicago restaurants, Elsa's Evanston restaurant would also be open on Sundays and Holidays, from Noon to 8.  Here is one of her ads from the Evanston Review from about the time she opened in September of 1953:

Here's another ad from right after her opening:

Elsa Burke continued to advertise for help in the Chicago Tribune.  Little did I know that she was looking for someone to fill what I would consider a "dream job" in her new restaurant on September 29, 1953:

A Food Checker!  I've been checking out food all my life.  I never knew you could get paid for it - plus free meals!

In those days you may remember, the Christmas Shopping Season did not start until Santa Claus arrived on Thanksgiving.  Here's Elsa's ad from December 10, 1953 reminding Evanstonians that the stores would be open evenings until Christmas:

Elsa did not limit her advertising to the Evanston Review.  Here's an ad from the Daily Herald from Christmas Eve, 1953:

Here's another ad from the Evanston Review of January 21, 1954:

Today a majority of people from the Philippines work in the healthcare industry where they provide excellent and compassionate service to the elderly and infirm.  Elsa Burke felt however, that Filipinos made the best waiters and that's what she wanted for her restaurants.  Here's an ad from the Chicago Tribune of January 20, 1954:

Here's another Evanston Review ad - this one for Easter, 1954:

As I mentioned previously, Elsa Burke had to travel daily from Mundelein to downtown Chicago and to Evanston to oversee her restaurants.  Remember, this was before the era of expressways, so the commute for Elsa could be grueling - especially in bad weather.  Over time this became too much so Elsa Burke sold her two downtown Chicago restaurants she could devote all her time and effort to her Evanston location.  She also left Mundelein - she bought an apartment building and she and her boys moved to Evanston - to 614 Clark Street:

Now for the first time in her life she could walk to work!

The Evanston Review published a nice article on the one-year anniversary of Elsa's Evanston restaurant:

The article noted that Elsa's restaurant had two main dining rooms:  the Blue Crystal Room, and the South Room with its Oriental motif.  And Elsa came up with the idea that after the ladies finished their lunches, they should just remain at the restaurant and play their afternoon bridge games right there.  Remember, Evanston was dry in those days - Elsa Burke was not serving liquor to the bridge clubs who were spending the afternoon at her Evanston restaurant. 

At this same time, Elsa Burke took out an ad in the Evanston Review thanking Evanstonians for their patronage over the previous year:

In the fall of 1954, Elsa Burke sailed to Europe on the Andrea Doria.  The Evanston Review reported about her trip in detail on December 23, 1954:

But it was not all work for Elsa Burke.  On October 27, 1955 she married for the third time - to Reuben Arvid Erickson (1888-1956) in Hot Springs, Arkansas.  The groom was 67; the bride was 52.  Erickson had been married at least once before.  After their wedding, the newlyweds lived at Erickson's home, 4551 N. Kenneth Avenue in Chicago:

4551 N. Kenneth, Chicago

Unfortunately this marriage did not last long, because Reuben A. Erickson died on October 7, 1956.  Here is his Death Notice from the Chicago Tribune of October 8, 1956:

Reuben Erickson is buried at Rosehill Cemetery in Chicago next to his first wife:

Photo courtesy of Find a Grave Photo Volunteer Meredith

   

In the mid-1950s Elsa Burke started writing a weekly column (Food, Fact and Fancy) for the Evanston Review, similar to the famous weekly column of noted restaurateur Fanny Lazzar (the difference being that I was mentioned in Fanny's Column, but I was never mentioned in Elsa Burke's column).  In her column from September 29, 1955 she talks about the twins attending Orrington School in Evanston:

Here is another of Elsa's columns from about the same time:

After the death of Reuben Erickson, Elsa and the twins moved back to Evanston.  She had rented out their former apartment at 614 Clark, so they couldn't go there.  In one of her columns Elsa reported how frustrating it was to have to live in a hotel - at least temporarily.  By the early 1960s Elsa finally found a more permanent place to live - a vintage home at 1209 Elmwood in Evanston:

1209 Elmwood, Evanston, Illinois

Things were going along well at Elsa Burke's Restaurant.  By this time she had built up quite a following among Evanstonians.  In addition, the twins were doing well with their German governess Eva Hippe.  Elsa was quite happy with the way things turned out - until December 1, 1957:

Elsa had just turned 55 years old and treated the robbery as a wake-up call.  Several times during that period she had mentioned the desire to sell the restaurant and retire.  She loved to travel, and running a restaurant, especially a very successful one is a big job.  The robbery ended up being the event that pushed Elsa over the edge.   Just three weeks later, on December 22, 1957, Elsa Burke sold her restaurant in the Library Plaza Hotel to restaurateurs and cousins Evans Ahros and John Cocallas.  After extensive renovation it reopened as "The John Evans Restaurant" after Evanston's namesake. 

Elsa decided to slow down and start enjoying life.  Here is a clip from the Chicago Tribune of March 04, 1959:

But Elsa Burke was not just sitting around eating bon-bons and reading Photoplay Magazine.  She still owned the commercial property on Clark Street in Evanston.  She set her son Harry up as the President of Burke and Company but knowing Elsa it is likely she still made the decisions when it came to $$$.

By 1978 Elsa Burke decided that she had had enough of Chicago's cold, snowy winters, and she made the move across the country to California. This made sense inasmuch as two of Elsa's children were living in the San Diego area:  Wayne Bank and his sister Gloria Bank Dawson, and son Bruce Burke was further north in the Sacramento area.  In 1980 she purchased a home at 1674 Torrance Street in San Diego.  She reported her occupation as "Retired."  

  

1674 Torrance Street, San Diego, California

As her life drew to a close, Elsa Burke decided to give marriage one more try.  On June 15, 1983, Elsa Lachman Bank Burke Erickson married John Boyd Ketterson (1903-1989).  The bride was 80 years old; the groom was 79.  The newlyweds decided to live in San Diego - at 1603 Torrance Street:

1603 Torrance Street, San Diego, California

Elsa's fourth and final husband John Boyd Ketterson died in San Diego on April 06, 1989.  He was 85 years old.  John Ketterson is buried in Mount Hope Cemetery in Chicago in Section 18, next to his first wife:

Elsa Burke died on November 28, 1997 in Mercy Hospital in San Diego.  She had just turned 95 years old.  Here is her Death Certificate:

She died from congestive heart failure and Parkinson's Disease.  

Surprisingly she chose to be interred in the Community Mausoleum of Rosehill Cemetery back in Chicago, in Unit 1, Chapel Level, Crypt 221.  Here is her crypt:

Elsa Lachman Bank Burke Erickson Ketterson led a long and interesting life.  Although she and her restaurant are forgotten today, they are part of Evanston history that should be remembered.  

May she rest in peace.

Elsa Lachman Bank Burke Erickson Ketterson

 

And now, as Paul Harvey would say, the rest of the story:

As reported above, on December 22, 1957, Elsa Burke sold her restaurant in the Library Plaza Hotel to restaurateurs and cousins Evans Ahros and John Cocallas.  After extensive renovation it reopened as "The John Evans Restaurant" after Evanston's namesake.  After operating for 10 years, the John Evans Restaurant closed in 1969.  There currently is no restaurant in the Library Plaza Hotel.

Elsa Burke's children:

Wayne Chatfield Bank - He was a newspaper reporter and a restaurateur in Chicago & New York, and a Commercial Real Estate Broker in the San Diego, California area. He died in Redding, California on November 12, 2012.  He was 89 years old.  

Gloria Maria Bank - Mrs. James Dawson, died in San Diego, California on June 10, 1992.  She was 67 years old.

Harry Bank Burke - Dr. Harry B. Burke was the Assistant Professor of Medicine at the New York Medical College in Valhalla, New York.  As of this writing, he is apparently still alive.  He is 74 years old.

Bruce Bank Burke - He was a Real Estate Broker in Sacramento, California.  He died on June 10, 2009 in Elk Grove, California.  He was 62 years old.  

Thanks, as always, to Researcher Extraordinaire Mike Kelly for digging up a lot of the Elsa Burke material.