The current day Green Mill Lounge at 4802 W. Broadway first opened in 1935 in the space formerly occupied by a jewelry store named "Wolf's Jewel Shop.

[8] After the end of Prohibition, the Green Mill became a more reputable establishment, attracting many popular jazz acts including Louis Armstrong, Billie Holiday and Al Jolson, along with cabaret icons like Texas Guinan: a onetime rodeo rider and vaudeville performer, Guinan reinvented herself during Prohibition as a bawdy, breezy master of ceremonies for cabaret shows at spots like the 300 Club in New York before coming to Chicago for a brief period from 1928 to 1930.

During that period, the Green Mill went from a nightlife hub to a place where day drinking and drug use were the norm, but was purchased and revitalized in 1986 by Dave Jemilo, a south-sider and owner of the bar Deja Vu.

[12] Recently the Green Mill hosts performers ranging from jazz quartets to swing orchestras who frequently play to a packed house.

In the Star Trek Voyager episode "Course: Oblivion" the Green Mill is mentioned by the character Tom Paris as a "Genuine speakeasy".

In the Chicago PD episode "We Don't Work Together Anymore" main characters Voight and Olinski enter the Green Mill to question a man.