Magnificent Mile in Chicago in Cook County, Illinois — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

World Famous Billy Goat Tavern & Grill

Photographed by Sean Flynn

1. World Famous Billy Goat Tavern & Grill Marker

Inscription.
Established in 1934 the Billy Goat Tavern, was located across from the original Chicago Stadium, it was from there William 'Goat' Sianis, put the Curse on the Chicago Cubs.

In 1964 the Billy Goat moved to Michigan Avenue. It was the inspiration for a Saturday Night Live skit, is frequented by reporters and has become an Historic Chicago Tourist Landmark with its famous 'cheezeborgers'.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Entertainment • Industry & Commerce • Sports. A significant historical year for this entry is 1964.

Location. 41° 53.417′ N, 87° 37.458′ W. Marker is in Chicago, Illinois, in Cook County. It is in Magnificent Mile. It can be reached from North Michigan Avenue south of East Illinois Street, on the right when traveling south. The marker is posted on the wall facing the stairwell down to the lower section of Michigan Avenue, where the Billy Goat Tavern is located at the South Water Street intersection. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 420 North Michigan Ave, Chicago IL 60611, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the American Midwest

and on the Great Lakes.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Viceroyalty of New France,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

and the Northwest Territory.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: A different marker also named World Famous Billy Goat Tavern & Grill (here, next to this marker); Jorge Marín (a few steps from this marker); Wings of Mexico (a

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few steps from this marker); Benito Juárez (within shouting distance of this marker); Tribune Tower (within shouting distance of this marker); Catherine and Jean-Baptiste Point du Sable (within shouting distance of this marker); Nathan Hale (within shouting distance of this marker); Jack Brickhouse (within shouting distance of this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Chicago.

More about this marker. This marker, while readable, has been pasted with a few unrelated stickers and shows the residue of some other stickers that have been removed.

An identical marker is immediately behind this one, on the opposite side of the wall facing north.

Regarding World Famous Billy Goat Tavern & Grill. This sign remains correct in that the Billy Goat Tavern is still a Chicago tourist stop, with its unique sub-street-level location below the Magnificent Mile and its place in city lore thanks to the old Saturday Night Live sketch and Billy Sianis's (perhaps apocryphal) link to the lovable loser Chicago Cubs.

As for the "Curse of the Billy Goat," according to legend—which was fanned

Photographed by Sean Flynn, December 5, 2023

2. World Famous Billy Goat Tavern & Grill Marker

A north-facing view of the marker. At the bottom of these steps is the intersection of Michigan Avenue's lower level and South Water Street, where the Billy Goat Tavern can be found. The Wrigley Building is on the right, behind the flag poles of the Plaza of the Americas, and the DuSable Bridge across the Chicago River is in the center rear.

by Sianis as well as by famed Chicago newspaperman (and Billy Goat Tavern patron) Mike Royko—Sianis and his goat Murphy were asked to leave Game 4 of the 1945 World Series at Wrigley Field because they were bothering the people around them, and in anger Sianis put a curse on the team, interpreted varyingly to be that the Cubs wouldn't win a National League pennant, or alternately a World Series pennant, ever again. The Cubs eventually lost that series to the Detroit Tigers, and in the ensuing years before and after Sianis's death in 1970, famous incidents seemed to lend credence to the curse. In 1969, a black cat strolled in front of the Cubs dugout during a game against the Mets, in the midst of a September collapse; in 1984, the Cubs lost three straight games to lose the NLCS; and (perhaps most famously) in the 2003 NLCS, when the Cubs took a 3-1 series lead and then lost three straight--including Game 6, when they were five outs from winning the series, only to blow a late lead and lose the game in epic fashion. However in 2016, the Cubs bucked the curse in winning their first World Series in 108 years, capped by a comeback from a 3-1 series deficit against the Cleveland Indians, and a dramatic victory in Game 7 after surrendering the lead.

The tavern is also no longer the journalist hangout it once was, as the neighborhood has changed significantly since the turn of

World Famous Billy Goat Tavern & Grill image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Sean Flynn, December 5, 2023

3. World Famous Billy Goat Tavern & Grill

The front entrance to the Billy Goat Tavern, which sits below street level along North Water Street at its intersection with Michigan Avenue.

the millennium. In 2004 the Chicago Sun-Times left its long-time home along the Chicago River (steps away from the Billy Goat) and the building was razed and replaced by the 100-story Trump International Hotel and Tower a few years later. Then in 2018, the Chicago Tribune vacated its iconic home (the Tribune Tower, across the street from the Billy Goat), which was converted to condos.

The original 1934 Billy Goat Tavern, referenced on this sign, was located at 1855 W. Madison, across the street from the old Chicago Stadium about 3 miles west of here. The United Center arena sits today on the tavern's original site, although another Billy Goat Tavern branch can be found about three blocks east at 1535 W. Madison.

Also see . . . Saturday Night Live’s “Cheezborger” sketch (video). The famed SNL sketch, inspired by the Billy Goat. (Submitted on October 30, 2024, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.)

Photographed by Sean Flynn, December 5, 2023

4. World Famous Billy Goat Tavern & Grill

The sign to the left, above the main entrance to the Billy Goat, references some of the lines from the Saturday Night Live sketch that made it nationally famous. To the right, a sign advertises a "Reverse the Curse" party in 2016--presumably the one that finally enabled the Cubs to break the "Curse of the Billy Goat" that year after 71 years.

Credits. This page was last revised on October 30, 2024. It was originally submitted on December 5, 2023, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. This page has been viewed 489 times since then and 59 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on December 5, 2023, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. • Devry Becker Jones was the editor who published this page.