Demolition begins on former Chicago nightclub where stampede killed 21

CHICAGO -- Demolition has begun on a historic downtown building two decades after a stampede at the dance club it housed left 21 dead and nearly five dozen injured.

A demolition crew moved in Tuesday after last week's emergency demolition order by the Chicago Department of Buildings, which declared the 114-year-old structure “constitutes an actual and imminent danger to the public,” according to local news reports.

That followed a Nov. 7 ruling by the Commission on Chicago Landmarks that denied the building owner's application to tear it down. Opened as a Fiat dealer in 1910, the structure is part of the city's historic Motor Row District.

In the pre-dawn hours of Feb. 17, 2003, security guards at the crowded E2 dance hall used pepper spray to break up a fight, causing panic among patrons who rushed the front door. Because the doors only opened inward, a frenzied crowd piled up. The crush killed 21 and injured 57. The building has been vacant since.

Building owner Randy Shifrin, who purchased the site in 2021, wants to redevelop it as a 21-story housing complex for seniors. He has promised to incorporate a memorial to the victims.

Officials determined that at the time of the disaster, the second-floor club was far over its safe capacity and had been ignoring a court order to close the floor because of a building code violation.

The city adopted an ordinance that spring banning the indoor use of pepper spray or similar substances.

Weeks later, state lawmakers approved a law, sponsored by then-state Sen. Barack Obama, barring such sprays indoors, prohibiting the blocking of exits in clubs and requiring large night spots to install panic bars on each door.