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First Ward Ball
$39.00
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Hosted annually by aldermen "Bathhouse" John Coughlin and "Hinky Dink" Kenna starting in 1896, the First Ward Ball packed the 7th Regiment Armory with pickpockets, madams, and politicians in equal measure, drawing 20,000 revelers at its 1908 peak. Reformers finally shut it down in 1909, ending one of the most notoriously corrupt parties in Chicago history.