Starting in the ’80s, a changing culture and shifting demographics in West Ridge hurt Adam’s Apple, Miller said. California Ave., a popular and longtime smoke shop in West Ridge, on Jan. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago Shelly Miller, owner of Adam’s Apple, 6229 N. “In the ’70s, this place was notorious,” he said. Police would even examine any cigarette butts left around to make sure they weren’t joints, Miller said. That led to extra heat from the police, who would occasionally raid the store. It became a place where people met - outside, Miller said - to buy drugs. This was a very hot jeans store.”Īdam’s Apple’s popularity had drawbacks, too. There were all kinds of records stores, jeans stores. “This neighborhood supported me because there were a lot of youth here,” he said. On weekends, Adam’s Apple was packed, as the store became a destination for teens cruising along nearby Devon Avenue. That put Adam’s Apple on the map for hippies across Chicago.Īdam’s Apple got in early on the denim craze of the ’70s and became one of the most popular jeans shops in the area, Miller said. 5, 2022.Īdam’s Apple was boosted in its early days by another burgeoning scene: FM radio.Īs the legendary radio station WLS was expanding its reach and broadcasting rock music in the late ’60s, Miller began advertising Adam’s Apple on the station. I was never a protester myself, but that’s what the mood was.”Ĭredit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago The sign at Adam’s Apple, 6229 N. “The scene was protests, marches, anti-draft. A petition to close the store failed after Miller, then 23, stepped in, he said. Miller’s military service and appearance gave the business more legitimacy in those early, make-or-break days, he said. Miller, fresh out of the Navy and a tour of duty in the South China Sea, was a local kid who was more clean-cut than his long-haired friends who had opened Adam’s Apple. The friends decided to open a shop in the space - but shut down after a scare from record companies. Spring Of ’69Īdam’s Apple was opened by Miller’s friends, who rented the California Avenue storefront primarily to make bootleg 8-track recordings. And something people forget: customer service.” Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago Shelly Miller looks over his shop at Adam’s Apple, 6229 N. “I don’t know if it’s personality, but definitely quality merch and fair prices. “I haven’t been able to wrap my head around it,” Miller said of his store’s longevity. In 2018, Adam’s Apple was named one of 10 legendary head shops by High Times Magazine. But few shops in the city can claim this level of counterculture authenticity.
The dank, below-grade shop is filled with stickers, posters and other decor that is indicative of such head shops. Today, the shop serves as a blast from the past, offering a litany of pipes, papers, bongs, dugouts, stash boxes and other stoner supplies.
In the ’70s and ’80s, Adam’s Apple served as a destination for thousands of North Side teens looking for tie dyes and flared jeans, all the while combating neighbor and police concerns over such establishments. In the early days, it was one of the few places in the city to buy rolling papers and other paraphernalia for the burgeoning pot culture, Miller said. I’m just going to fade away.”Īdam’s Apple opened in spring 1969. “At 75 years old, I figure I have a few good years left,” Miller said. Longtime owner Shelly Miller plans to retire. The city’s longest-running head shop at 6229 N. WEST RIDGE - From near the dawn of hippie culture to the legalization of pot, Adam’s Apple in West Ridge has ushered Chicagoans through the highs and lows of counterculture.īut after 52 years in business, Adam’s Apple will close at the end of the month.
0 kommentar(er)
