Along with a handful of art galleries today, the area holds many bars, dance clubs, popular restaurants and entertainment venues, and a design district with shops and showrooms selling commercial and luxury interior furnishings in the blocks north of the Merchandise Mart.

River North was named Smokey Hollow around the turn of the 20th century due to the many factories and forges in the area.

At the time Smokey Hollow was a major transportation hub with railroad tracks linking the ports along the Chicago River with the surrounding areas.

The shop happened to be directly across the street from Holy Name Cathedral, where O'Banion and Weiss attended Mass.

Frankie Yale entered the shop with Torrio and Capone gunmen John Scalise and Albert Anselmi.

The River North neighborhood fell on difficult times starting in the 1960s with many families moving into the suburbs to escape urban blight.

Assumption Church on Illinois Street during this time reported that many of its Parishioners had moved to the suburbs and that few people remained living within its Parish boundaries as established by the Archdiocese of Chicago.

Assumption Parish survived during this time on Parishioners who traveled from the suburbs to attend Mass in the old neighborhood every Sunday.