The record
A spy-themed bar in River North that displayed a piece of the Wall among its props, until it closed in March 2023. Where the piece went is not known.
SafeHouse, a spy-themed restaurant and bar with a password at the door, opened in Chicago's River North in March 2017, a sister to the original in Milwaukee. The Chicago Sun-Times, previewing the opening, listed the artefacts of the era it had assembled: a piece of the Berlin Wall, the flight deck of a Second World War spy plane donated by its pilot, and replica machine guns from the estate of John Wayne.
It closed abruptly in March 2023. Nothing read here says what became of the Wall piece, and this record is kept as a former location for exactly that reason. A segment in a themed bar is the kind that moves without anyone writing it down: it belonged to a business, not a museum or a city, and when the business went the object went with it.
It is also a fair reminder of how many of the catalogue's listings are like this one — a record that was true when it was made, of a place that no longer exists.
How did it get here?
Displayed at SafeHouse Chicago from its opening in 2017; not traced after the venue closed in 2023.
Sources & verification
Berlin Wall Archive ↗
The source lists this place as a Berlin Wall location. Coordinates, where supplied, are source-reported and may represent a general area. This is not independent verification of authenticity, current presence, or public access.
Source accessed 2026-09-17 · Source record 78
SafeHouse and EscapeHouse ready for covert ops in Chicago — Chicago Sun-Times, 1 March 2017 ↗
SafeHouse Chicago at 60 E. Ontario displayed artefacts of the era including a piece of the Berlin Wall, a flight deck from a Second World War spy plane donated by the pilot, and replica machine guns from the estate of John Wayne.
Source accessed 2026-09-17
SafeHouse Chicago, spy-themed restaurant and bar in River North, abruptly closes — NBC Chicago ↗
SafeHouse Chicago in River North closed abruptly in March 2023, announcing that it had completed its last mission in Chicago.
Source accessed 2026-09-17
Last verified: Not yet verified
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