Joseph F. “Joe” Kelly, beginning in the early 1900s, parlayed a saloon and a liquor store into wealth and political power in Baltimore’s predominantly Irish Tenth Ward. When National Prohibition banned any further sale of alcohol, Kelly — backed by his constituents — took his war against enforcement of the “dry” laws into the streets. It proved to be a fight he could not win. Shown here is a picture that may be a young Joe Kelly.
Details of Kelly’s parentage, education and early career are scant. Born in Ireland and brought to America as a child along with a brother and three sisters Kelly seems never to have been recorded in a U.S. Census. He first surfaced in Baltimore directories about 1901 operating a saloon at 893 Greenmount Avenue, near the center of the Tenth Ward, shown below on a map.
Much of the Eighth Ward that had been populated by the Irish became the Tenth Ward just before the turn of the 20th century, when the boundaries of the city’s election districts were reconfigured. The new boundaries, that still exist today, were the rectangle bounded by E. Preston Street, N. Caroline Street, E. Monument Street and The Fallsway. Once they arrived in Baltimore in force, the Irish were a power to be reckoned with, particularly in the bare-knuckle era of bossism and political clubs.
Kelly rose rapidly in this environment, his reputation as a genial and generous saloonkeeper thrusting him into political power. He also succeeded as a businessman, opening a second saloon and a liquor house he called “The Family Liquor Store” at the corner of Hillen and Forrest Streets. At this location he offered free games of pool upstairs, a popular option. He also gave away advertising shot glasses to favored customers.
As can be seen from the 1911 photo of his building, signage was of particular importance to the Irishman. Kelly’s building could be seen from a long way off because of the large wooden bottle on the roof. City records indicate that in April 1909 the Baltimore Board of Estimates turned down his request for a new sign. One of the five Board members voting against it was poet and Baltimore native Edgar Allen Poe. The reason given was that the sign was “dead” at a time when neon signs were lighting up Baltimore’s night sky. Kelly caught on and months later returned with a proposal for an eight by four feet electric sign. This time the sign was approved.
Married to a woman named Isabelle, Kelly and his wife not appear to have had children. Their first home was living adjacent to the Greenmount Avenue saloon. As he prospered, Kelly was able to move the couple, likely with servants, into a mansion home at 1649 East North Avenue. Shown below as it looks today, the building serves as the “Great Blacks in Wax Museum.”
In 1920 things changed abruptly for Kelly. With the imposition of National Prohibition he was forced to shut down his Family Liquor Store and ostensibly convert his Greenmount Street saloon into a “near beer” and soft drink emporium. The anti-“dry” environment in Baltimore, however, emboldened Kelly to continue to make, distribute and sell illicit alcohol, while local and state officials looked the other way and the general public applauded his efforts.
In time federal prohibition agents became aware of Kelly’s activities. On May 17, 1922, accompanied by (reluctant) local police, two squads of law enforcement officers stormed into Kelly’s establishment where they found bootleg liquor estimated at worth a half million dollars (equiv. to $7 million today). The raid triggered a riot as some fifty sympathizers of Kelly, cheered on by a large crowd of spectators, attacked the officers with sticks, stones and bottles. Reported the New York Times: “The rioting, which caused casualties on both sides, was attended by spectacular events in which police ambulances, trucks, thirty taxicabs, four undertakers’ wagons, fire apparatus, electric railway trouble trucks…figured, together with knives and firecrackers.”
As soon as a vehicle was loaded with Kelly’s confiscated booze, a rioter would slash the tires. “Kill ‘em, kill ‘em,” the crowd roared as agents carried out cases of whiskey. Thoroughly frightened, the men retreated into the saloon, sheltered by Kelly until the melee subsided. Later that night the barrels and cases of liquor were loaded on trucks and taken to a government warehouse. The authorities announced that the raid had “struck at the heart of the illicit liquor traffic in Baltimore.”
It appears that Kelly was arrested on bootlegging charges, made bail, and was able to get continuances on his court appearances. The Baltimore Sun in December 1922 reported that Kelly, claiming illness through his attorney, had failed to appear in Federal District Court on charges of prohibition law violations.
He subsequently was acquitted of possessing and selling liquor. Claiming illegal search and seizure, Kelly later petitioned the court for the return of the whiskey and wine on the basis that it was pre-Prohibition stock and not bootleg alcohol. He does not appear to have been successful.
Despite his ongoing entanglement with prohibition enforcement, Kelly continued to flout anti-alcohol laws, moving his operation to a warehouse on Baltimore’s Homewood Avenue. Now having gained the close attention of federal agents, Kelly’s warehouse was put under constant surveillance. On the night of January 29, 1923, two agents saw a large covered truck leave the warehouse at a high rate of speed and gave chase. Not far from Kelly’s home, the driver and a passenger jumped out, tried to prevent a search of the truck, and promptly were arrested. A Baltimore policeman given custody of the two men promptly let them escape.
The truckers alerted Kelly who, with a crowd, came to the scene. He challenged the authority of the agents and attempted to detain them. Surrounded by the crowd and pushed away from the truck, the agents were unable to stop a Kelly ally from jumping into the driver’s seat and driving off at a high rate of speed. Driver and cargo were never found. Although the contraband liquor was gone, federal authorities had Kelly and charged him with impeding prohibition agents in the execution of their duties.
At his trial in March, Kelly denied seizing and holding the agents during the get-away maintaining he was “merely a casual passerby.” The jury did not buy his story, however, and found him guilty on three counts. A Federal District judge imposed a fine of $250 and nine months imprisonment in the Baltimore city jail. Kelly and his lawyers appealed the decision to the U.S. Circuit Court citing a number of technicalities. The court sustained the original verdict. Kelly went to jail where he immediately was made librarian.
After serving most of his sentence, Kelly was released from jail just before the stroke of midnight. Regardless of the late hour a large crowd of cheering supporters awaited him as he passed through the gates. During the next few years, Kelly was able to maintain his status as a political power in municipal affairs, even extending his sway outside the Tenth Ward. He also became known for his philanthropy with generous contributions to the St. Vincent’s Male Orphan Asylum, Carmelite Monastery and other charities.
When Joe Kelly died in August 1930 a crowd estimated at 1,000, including both Democratic and Republican leaders, attended his funeral, held at St. John’s Catholic Church in the heart of the Irish boss’s Tenth Ward. Floral offerings filled five wagons. Forty-five automobiles were in the procession, preceded by a line of motorcycle police. Another large gathering awaited at the church. Inside mourners heard the pastor extol Kelly as “a true politician, a wise business man and a kind and gentle friend.” When it came to Prohibition, padre, maybe not so kind or gentle.
Note: Starting with an interest in Kelly’s shot glasses, led me to the New York Times report of the May 1921 mayhem and then to the larger story of how a Baltimore Irish saloonkeeper and political boss tried to escape National Prohibition, was successful for a while and then caught and jailed. Most of the information came from news stories in the Times and Baltimore Sun.
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