See All The Crafty Ways Americans Hid Alcohol During Prohibition

During Prohibition, city “speakeasies” thrived. Patrons whispered passwords for entry to these secret bars, like this 1930s spot.

This image shows law enforcement agents dismantling the bar inside a speakeasy that had been raided in Camden, New Jersey

To evade Prohibition agents, moonshiners wore “cow shoes” with hoof-shaped soles so tracks looked bovine. Police seized this pair.

During Prohibition, drinkers hid alcohol creatively—like this woman showing a fake book designed to conceal a liquor flask.

As this 1932 photograph shows, home furnishings such as lamps were also adapted into hiding spots for alcohol bottles.

In this 1928 photo, a woman’s plain overcoat hides two large alcohol tins strapped to her thighs—clever Prohibition-era smuggling.

In 1922, a woman at a D.C. soda fountain poured liquor from her cane—an example of stylish ingenuity during Prohibition.

Before Prohibition enforcement moved to Justice, Treasury agents found 191 pint bottles hidden under a sailor’s mattress in Norfolk.

In 1926 Los Angeles, agents found 70 cases of Scotch hidden in a lumber truck—one of many clever bootlegging schemes nationwide.

In 1930, police raided Eugene Shine’s Long Beach home, uncovering $20,000 in liquor—evidence of large-scale bootlegging.