Manufacturer: Scammell China
User: Prima Gardens
Distributor: Albert Pick & Company
Date of platter: Circa 1911-1923

Rienzi complex

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Notes: Prima Gardens was part of the Rienzi Co. complex in Chicago. Based on newspaper stories, it was open at least from 1916 to 1921. Managing directors were Fred C. Kuehl and A.F. Bruchman. It was a club and restaurant featuring outdoor entertainment during the summer.

A story in the Feb. 12, 1921, issue of the Logansport Pharos Tribune said: "The Prima Gardens, Broadway and Diversey Boulevard, long known as the Rienzi Gardens, were ordered closed for one year, yesterday by Judge Landis." Apparently, the club ran afoul of Prohibition laws. But based on a garbled story later that year in the May 24, 1921 Chicago Tribune, it looks like Rienzi's answer to its closure for alcohol violations was to reopen Prima Gardens as a cafeteria and lunch counter, according to Kuehl, the company president.

The platter on Lamberton body has a blue line on the rim surrounded by black lines. It is decorated with a black line drawing of a fairy with what look like butterfly wings, surrounded by flowers and the words PRIMA GARDENS. It is the same illustration as for the Rienzi Cafe.

For more info:
Rienzi Café by Bauscher Brothers

Contributors:
ID: itsagas
Platter photos: Charles Dragonette