A
Long Bar
and a
Narrow Room
Fire of 1871. Originally the home of the Chicago Paint and
Varnish Company, it became notorious in the Twenties as a distribution warehouse
for the bootlegging network of the famed Al Capone mob. Rumor
has it that Capone lieutenant Frank Nitti lived in an apartment on the fourth
floor which still exists.
As
reprinted from February 1992 Sound & Communications magazine.
Harry
Caray's on Chicago's North Side Gets a Sound
System for Sports
By
Chuck Shriver
Harry
Caray's Restaurant is nestled in the heart of Chicago's active Near North area
in the only building north of the Chicago River that survived the famous Chicago
fire or 1871.
Chuck
Shriver is President of Shriver Communications, Ltd. in
Elk Grove Village.
WGN-TV
Sportscaster Harry Caray is such a Chicago celebrity that when he opened his
restaurant on Chicago's Near North area the city of Chicago renamed Kinzie Street
"Harry Caray Street" in his honor. In the background is the 444 North
Michigan Avenue building, home of many of Chicago's advertising agencies.
t
seems hard to believe, but even popular
Chicago Cubs television personality Harry Caray
needed some help to be heard over the crowd.
I
Well,
not Harry himself. His foghorn voice can be heard leading the cheers from the
Wrigley Field broadcast booth almost without assistance of the WGN-TV airwaves.
In this case, it was Harry's popular near northside eatery that needed the help.
His restaurant, appropriately called Harry Caray's, at 33 West Kinzie St., is
located in one of Chicago's most historic structures. Most of the time you couldn't
hear the sound from the sports events on our TV sets. Just north of the Chicago
River and two blocks west of Michigan Avenue's “Magnificent Mile,” the restaurant
is almost literally within shouting distance of the Windy City's two major daily
newspapers most of its television and radio stations, and a majority of its
advertising and media
Most
of the time you couldn't hear the sound from the sports events on our TV sets.
In more recent times it had been the home of the Kinzie Steak House, until Caray's
group took it over three and a half years ago. Now it is the forty-third largest
grossing independent restaurant in the United States. “Our bar alone grosses
more than most standalone bars in Chicago,” said Harry Caray's manager, Steve
Borchew. “Most of the time you couldn't hear the sound from the sports events
on our TV sets, which is part of the draw and certainly you couldn't hear a
page.” The most effective application is the one that fits the needs. Painfully
aware of the need of a sound system in the bar that could be heard over the
din, Borchew made calls to fellow restaurateurs. The result: “Modular Sound
Systems was recommended to us several times.” The long, narrow configuration
of the room, its décor, its seven windows opposite the bar, and the age of the
building presented some peculiar problems. “The bar itself is 60 feet, 6 inches
long (the exact distance from the pitcher's rubber to home plate), but the room
is only about 25-feet wide,” Borchew said. “When it's packed to capacity – which
it is most nights – you can't hear a thing. We were concerned about finding
a solution that worked,” he said. After surveying the situation, Jim Wischmeyer,
president of Modular Sound, and Henry Heine, Modular Sound's chief engineer
and designer, came up with a unique solution. We decided to make the loudspeakers
part of the décor. “We ruled out the ceiling as a location for the speakers
for a variety of reasons,” Wischmeyer said. “What we decided upon was to make
the loudspeakers part of the décor rather than hiding them. The result was a
row of loudspeakers which hang on the wall between the windows, giving the effect
of antique picture frames,” he said. Modular Sound decided upon six customized
TA12 Bag End loudspeaker systems, with SE1280 speakers and E350 horns installed
in particularly shallow custom cabinets between windows, finished to match the
décor of the room – a seemingly simple, but extremely effective answer to the
problem. The bar's sound system in connected with the main sound system in the
restaurant. It can be employed separately or as part of the overall system.
It is also patched into the room's video system so that all important Chicago
sports events – particularly Chicago Cubs telecasts – can be heard clearly in
every corner of the bar. The bar's sound system in connected with the main sound
system in the restaurant.
The
bar itself is 60 feet, 6 inches long (the exact distance from the pitcher's
rubber to home plate).
The long,
narrow configuration and many windows in the bar area of Harry Caray's Restaurant
presented special challenges to Modular Sound Systems engineers.
agencies.
The building which houses Harry Caray's was the only structure left standing
north of the Chicago River following the great Chicago
We
decided to make
the loudspeakers part
of the decor.
The
most effective application is the one that fits the needs.
The
bar's sound system is connected with the main sound system in the restaurant.
Modular
Sound System engineers dealt with the problem of an inappropriate ceiling and
limited wall space by custom designing shallow Bag End TA12 cabinets to house
SE1280 speakers and E350 horns. The cabinets are mounted between the windows,
and are finished to match the rest of the decor in the room.
What's
the bottom line?
“We're ecstatic,” said Borchew. “The system is perfectly tailored for the situation
and it does everything the Modular Sound people said it would.” Said Wischmeyer,
“Sometimes the solution does not have to be complicated. After you have analyzed
the problem thoroughly, the most effective application is the one that fits
the needs – simple or complex.
