Welcome to Peoria Speaks!  Peoria's Official Online Speakeasy

A speakeasy was an establishment that surreptitiously sold alcoholic beverages during the Prohibition, when the sale, manufacture, and transportation of alcohol was illegal. (The term actually comes from a patron's manner of ordering alcohol without raising suspicion — a bartender would tell a patron to be quiet and "speak easy"!)

Speakeasies became more popular and numerous as the Prohibition years progressed. Speakeasies popped up everywhere. One site said that as soon as the owner could get a padlock for the door, the speakeasy was good to go. Although they were places where the law was being broken, they did a lot of good. The bars of the early twentieth century were mainly hang outs for men, however, speakeasies were open to both men and women. Jazz also blossomed during this era, the speakeasies provided an outlet for musicians to play.       

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