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 is on North Michigan Avenue south of East Illinois Street, on the right when traveling south. The marker is posted on the front of a stairwell that leads to the lower section of Michigan Avenue, where the Billy Goat Tavern is located. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 430 North Michigan Avenue, 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 few steps from this marker); Benito Juárez

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(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. An identical marker is immediately behind this one, on the opposite side of the wall for the stairwell facing south towards the steps.

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, the bar's regular and prominent mentions in Mike Royko's newspaper columns, and Billy Sianis's (perhaps apocryphal) link to the lovable loser Chicago Cubs. Billy Sianis died in 1970, and his nephew Sam Sianis ran the Billy Goat until around 2020. Sam Sianis died in 2026.

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

Photographed by Sean Flynn, November 24, 2023

2. World-Famous Billy Goat Tavern & Grill Marker

The view facing north up Michigan Avenue. The stairwell leads down to the lower level of Michigan Avenue and the site of the Billy Goat.

was fanned 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. In 2004, the Chicago Sun-Times left its long-time

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

Photographed by Sean Flynn, December 5, 2023

3. 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.

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 . . .
1. Sam Sianis, ‘Cheezborger’-Flipping Owner of Chicago’s Billy Goat Tavern, Dies at 91. The New York Times obituary for Sam Sianis, who died at age 91 on May 15, 2026.

Excerpt: "A dark, greasy-walled saloon, the Billy Goat is a true Chicago dive, open up to 20 hours a day to serve the newspapers’ shift workers. And for more than 50 years, regardless of the hour, visitors were likely to find Mr. Sianis tending bar or manning the small kitchen in back. A Greek immigrant who arrived in Chicago in 1960, he helped his uncle, William Sianis, open the Billy Goat Tavern (sometimes called the Billy Goat Inn) at its present location in
Photographed by Sean Flynn, December 5, 2023

4. 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.
1964. Six years later, when Billy died, Sam took over and ran it until his semiretirement during the pandemic."

(Submitted on June 24, 2026, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.)

2. 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.)

Credits. This page was last revised on June 24, 2026. It was originally submitted on November 27, 2023, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. This page has been viewed 791 times since then and 67 times this year. Last updated on December 5, 2023, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on November 27, 2023, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. 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.