Chicago Gay Neighborhood History
I started thinking about how Chicago being the “City of Neighborhoods” has intersected with the city’s LGBT history. Chicago’s Boystown neighborhood made history in 1997 when Mayor Richard M. Daley designated it the city’s official gay neighborhood. It was the first such designation in American history. Chicago gay neighborhood history stretches back over a century […]
A History of Gay Pride in Chicago
The 48th Annual Chicago Pride Parade will take place on June 25th. In anticipation of one of the city’s most joyful events, I wanted to take a look back at the long and vibrant history of gay pride in Chicago. Whether they know it or not, the million or so revelers who will descend on […]
Three Halsted Street Films Seek the Soul of Chicago
Halsted Street shoots straight through the heart of Chicago, running north from the southern border until it merges with Broadway in Lakeview. Along that route, it covers a vast diversity of neighborhoods. With a recent Halsted Street documentary by VICE, I realized that there are now three different documentaries, made over the past century, which have seized upon […]