Nearly a century ago, in Oct. 1923, William (Bill) Albright and Robert Zimmer took over the storefront at the newly opened Capitol Building at the corner of Madison Street and Ferdinand Avenue. About a year after opening, the partnership dissolved, and Myrtle, known as “Ma,” and Bill would run Albright’s Restaurant at that corner for the next four decades.
Albright’s Restaurant (present day Angelo O’Leary’s) was perfectly located next to the Forest Park Theater (present day McDonald’s) and in a busy section of Madison Street. Albright’s was said to be a popular meeting place for entertainers during the heyday of vaudeville. It was a regular stop for local pilots, like Charles Lindbergh, who flew from Checkerboard Field. It was where people from Mauder’s Garage would eat. Dr. Orland of the Historical Society of Forest Park once said, “Anyone who made the circuit in those days knew there were two places in town where the usually-exalted customer was never right, one was Albright’s and the other was Vogel Brothers.
Read more about Charles Lindbergh in Forest Park here.
