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Also take a look at the Chicago Gay Bathhouse and Sex Club Guide, which has plenty of advice on where to meet guys looking to hookup around Chicago. Here's a more in-depth look at these Downtown and South Side Chicago gay social establishments. It's also a bit of a distance to reach these bars, but they're both legendary nightspots that are well-worth checking out, especially given that many of the nation's gay African-American hangouts have steadily disappeared over the years. Established in the early 1970s, this is one of the citys oldest gay cafs and is located off the beaten Schneberg track. Chicago lost a piece of gay history in 2018, when Man's Country, the city's oldest bathhouse, closed its doors after 44 years. Additionally, on the city's South Side, you'll find a pair of gay bars that cater predominantly to African-American patrons, Club Escape and Jeffery Pub. Artwork on the walls by Dom Orejudos, a.k.a. You can find extensive lists of establishments in the Chicago Lakeview Gay Nightlife Guide and the Chicago Andersonville Gay Nightlife Guide. These neighborhoods are a lot of fun, but they're also a bit of a haul - by cab or public transit - from downtown Chicago, which is where most of the city's hotels are.įortunately, there are a couple of very fun gay nightspots right in the heart of downtown, not to mention an almost endless supply of terrific restaurants, many of them with mixed gay/straight followings.
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(Please note: this information has not been updated since the time of the member’s induction).Although Chicago has among the greatest selection of gay nightspots in the country, the majority of these hangouts - from bars and discos to LGBT-popular restaurants - are in popular mixed residential-commercial neighborhoods on the north side of the city. Jane Byrne was Chicago’s first mayor to ride in the annual Pride Parade in Boystown. The area soon picked up the nickname Gay Town which eventually morphed into Boystown. Beneficiaries of Lost & Found–generated funds have included not only the Lesbian Community Cancer Project but also individual women with health needs. The gay neighborhood shifted slightly north in the coming years, with the first gay bar opening on North Halsted in 1975. The hundreds of angel figures were then hung on display as holiday decorations. Rite Liquors is the kind of place you go after all the bars are closed so you can sit there just waiting to be served the second the liquor law hour strikes morning. Conversations abounded among diverse acquaintances new and old, ranging in age from their 20s to their senior years, all against a background of pool playing, not-too-loud jukebox music, and meticulous barkeeping.Įvery December, Allen cut angel figures from construction paper, the bar’s customers make donations, and each donor had her name inscribed on one of the angels. Chicago’s Oldest Gay Bars Have Stories to Tell As the world recognizes the 50th anniversary of Stonewall, we sent photographers to three of the city’s oldest gay bars one on the South Side, one. This is a bit of a misnomer, as the performers. It was once reported that Navy women posted to North Chicago’s Great Lakes base had heard about the bar while stationed in the Philippines. La Cueva (The Cave) is an LGBTQ historic site - it is known as the oldest Latino drag bar in the country. Allen oversaw a polite, congenial operation that fostered a relaxed social atmosphere for customers, some of whom drove in from distant suburbs to join their friends. Located in the Palmer House Hotel, the Chicago outpost of the California-based chain served tropical cocktails and cuisine before closing in 2005 when ownership of the hotel changed hands. Each year, her customers donated funds to the Lesbian Community Cancer Project through the Lost & Found’s Adopt-an-Angel program.Īt the bar, Allen sponsored several women’s sports teams, and the Lost & Found serves as a “home” for many women of all ages. In the years following Christensen’s 1986 death from cancer, Allen helped to raise thousands of dollars for individuals and groups fighting the disease. Allen’s bar has served as a starting point for generations of Chicago lesbians and is the oldest lesbian bar in the city.
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In the 1960s and 1970s, Allen and her partner resisted police harassment as well as enforcement of an ordinance that prohibited women and men from dressing in clothes that supposedly belonged to the opposite sex. Allen joined it in 1973 as Christensen’s lover and business partner. The business was founded by the late Shirley Christensen, herself a pioneer supporter of gay and lesbian activism in Chicago. A longtime owner of the city’s oldest lesbian bar, Lost & Found, Ava Allen maintained it as a home away from home for generations of lesbians and, through it, helped to raise thousands of dollars to fight cancer and meet women’s health needs since the club opened in 1965. Sidetrack is generally heralded as the king of Chicago gay bars, and not for no reason.