Chicago's Gay District
Northalsted, Chicago's Most Celebrated Area
The inaugural officially acknowledged gay enclave in the United States, Boystown Chicago, is the generally accepted moniker for the diverse East Lakeview vicinity commonly known as Northalsted, which serves as a haven for Chicago's visible and actively engaged lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community.
Northalsted, the nation's initial official gay neighborhood(credit: northalsted.com)
Northalsted is positioned immediately southeast of Wrigleyville in Lakeview. This particular locale is circumscribed by Broadway Avenue on the east and Halsted Street to the west, Grace Street to the north, and Belmont Avenue to the south.
The two principal (north-south) thoroughfares, Halsted Street and Broadway, hold dominion over the core of this commercial and entertainment district. Broadway chiefly presents a multitude of themed shops and restaurants, distributed across the neighborhood, whilst Halsted caters to a vibrant nightlife scene, boasting more than thirty distinct gay and lesbian bars, nightclubs, and eateries.
This neighborhood also shelters the Center on Halsted, the Midwest's foremost LGBTQ community center that welcomes over one thousand individuals daily. Northalsted arranges a number of annual happenings — Chicago Pride Fest, the Chicago Pride Parade, and Northalsted Market Days — attracting over one million individuals to the North Side neighborhood each summer.
Immerse Yourself in LGBTQ Chicago!
Chicago is the ideal location to celebrate pride this summer, with a spirited LGBTQ+ community and events tailored to every individual. Here are some additional activities whilst visiting.
Legacy Project Rainbow Pylons
While visiting the Northalsted neighborhood, it won't take long before you observe the twenty rainbow pylons that adorn "Chicago's proudest neighborhood."
The twenty-five-foot-tall pylons were conceived and erected by architecture firm DeStefano+Partners as an element of a series of streetscape projects under Mayor Richard M. Daley. They were formally inaugurated in nineteen ninety-eight. It marked the inaugural occasion a municipal government formally acknowledged an LGBTQ community.
Legacy Project attains landmark standing (credit: Spike King)
In two thousand twelve, the Legacy Project selected the distinctive rainbow pylons as the site for the first outdoor museum acknowledging the significant global accomplishments and contributions of LGBTQ individuals.
As of two thousand nineteen, the pylons have been embellished with forty illuminated bronze plaques honoring historically significant personalities, including Frida Kahlo, Jane Addams, Sally Ride, and Alan Turing. The plaques are fixed with stainless steel frames on the sidewalk-facing aspects of each pylon and are recognized as the Legacy Walk, the world's only outdoor museum dedicated to LGBTQ history.
The non-profit Legacy Walk Organization was established by longtime LGBTQ activists Victor Salvo, Lori Cannon, and Owen Keehnen. (legacyprojectchicago.org)
Center on Halsted - 3656 N. Halsted
The Center on Halsted is the Midwest's most extensive, comprehensive center catering to Chicago's LGBTQ community. The Center presents a variety of cultural events, including concerts, theatrical performances, and lecture series, as well as sports and recreational programs. (centeronhalsted.org)
Bars, Nightclubs, and Restaurants
The stretch of entertainment on North Halsted, commencing from Belmont Avenue to Grace Street, accommodates some of the earliest and most emblematic LGBTQ-owned and operated establishments in the Midwest. From the neighborhood's most popular drag brunch at D.S. Tequila Co, refreshing slushy drinks on the rooftop deck, and show-tune nights at Sidetrack, to high-energy nightclub DJs until four in the morning at Hydrate Nightclub, you can unearth just about anything to suit your preferences and time of day.
Boystown Bars | LGBTQ Bars in Chicago
Celebrate summer on Sidetrack's spacious rooftop deck (credit: Sidetrack)
Concerning shopping, don't miss Cram Fashion, a boutique offering casual menswear, and Unabridged Bookstore, where you can discover uncommon queer works.
GoPride.com offers a complete business directory and LGBTQ calendar.
Header Image: A seven hundred and fifty-square-foot queer-themed mural, enveloping the entire south wall of the Howard Brown Health Center, at three thousand two hundred forty-five North Halsted, honoring non-binary community members and features holistic healer and interdisciplinary artist Kiam Marcelo Junio. Artists Sandra Antongiorgi Music Artist, Andy Bellomo, and Sam Kirk completed the LGBTQ tribute mural in two thousand eighteen to initiate conversation concerning queer culture and community.Image courtesy: Del Nakamura (northalsted.com).