Finding queer spaces outside Northalsted
Chicago’s LGBTQ+ community is a “vibrant” and “energetic” one. But where do people go to build community in queer spaces? We’ll give you some ideas.
Chicago has a well-known and important LGBTQ+ community in Northalsted, formerly Boystown, which is also the oldest officially recognized gay neighborhood in the country. But Northalsted and businesses in the area have historically catered to the white, cisgender, male part of the community. And it experienced a reckoning following the 2020 murder of George Floyd that led to the neighborhood’s name change.
So where are the queer spaces outside of Northalsted for those who either cannot or don’t want to trek to Lake View? Adam Rhodes is a training director at Investigative Reporters and Editors and a former social justice reporter at The Chicago Reader, where they covered the Northalsted community during its period of recent tumult. On today’s episode, they talk about the history of Chicago’s main gay enclave and name some of the city’s welcoming spaces outside of it.
Below is a non-exhaustive list of some spaces Rhodes told us about.
Bars
- Club Escape, 1530 E. 75th St.
- Club Krave, 13126 S. Western Ave.
- Jeffrey Pub, 7041 S. Jeffery Blvd.
- Nobody’s Darling, 1744 W. Balmoral Ave.
- Whiskey Girl Tavern, 6318 N. Clark St.
Organizations
- Affinity Community Services, a Black-led, queer-led organization on Chicago’s South Side dedicated to social justice in Black LGBTQ+ communities.
- Brave Space Alliance, a Black-led, trans-led LGBTQ+ center dedicated to creating and providing affirming, culturally competent, for-us by-us resources, programming, and services for LGBTQ+ individuals on the South and West sides of the city.
- Chicago Black Drag Council, an organization serving Black and brown drag performers in Chicago.
- Chicago Black Gay Men’s Caucus, committed to advancing health equity among Black gay, bisexual and same gender loving men, and eliminating HIV within the community.
- Lighthouse Foundation, a Black, LGBTQ+-led, multiracial social justice organization that advances justice for Black LGBTQ+ people across Chicagoland through empowerment, education, and entertainment.
- Reunion Chicago, a project incubation space located in Humboldt Park to work that centers women, persons of color, and LGBTQ+ identities and stories.
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The Rundown: Chicago News Podcast
Finding queer spaces outside Northalsted
Chicago’s LGBTQ+ community is a “vibrant” and “energetic” one. But where do people go to build community in queer spaces? We’ll give you some ideas.
Chicago has a well-known and important LGBTQ+ community in Northalsted, formerly Boystown, which is also the oldest officially recognized gay neighborhood in the country. But Northalsted and businesses in the area have historically catered to the white, cisgender, male part of the community. And it experienced a reckoning following the 2020 murder of George Floyd that led to the neighborhood’s name change.
So where are the queer spaces outside of Northalsted for those who either cannot or don’t want to trek to Lake View? Adam Rhodes is a training director at Investigative Reporters and Editors and a former social justice reporter at The Chicago Reader, where they covered the Northalsted community during its period of recent tumult. On today’s episode, they talk about the history of Chicago’s main gay enclave and name some of the city’s welcoming spaces outside of it.
Below is a non-exhaustive list of some spaces Rhodes told us about.
Bars
- Club Escape, 1530 E. 75th St.
- Club Krave, 13126 S. Western Ave.
- Jeffrey Pub, 7041 S. Jeffery Blvd.
- Nobody’s Darling, 1744 W. Balmoral Ave.
- Whiskey Girl Tavern, 6318 N. Clark St.
Organizations
- Affinity Community Services, a Black-led, queer-led organization on Chicago’s South Side dedicated to social justice in Black LGBTQ+ communities.
- Brave Space Alliance, a Black-led, trans-led LGBTQ+ center dedicated to creating and providing affirming, culturally competent, for-us by-us resources, programming, and services for LGBTQ+ individuals on the South and West sides of the city.
- Chicago Black Drag Council, an organization serving Black and brown drag performers in Chicago.
- Chicago Black Gay Men’s Caucus, committed to advancing health equity among Black gay, bisexual and same gender loving men, and eliminating HIV within the community.
- Lighthouse Foundation, a Black, LGBTQ+-led, multiracial social justice organization that advances justice for Black LGBTQ+ people across Chicagoland through empowerment, education, and entertainment.
- Reunion Chicago, a project incubation space located in Humboldt Park to work that centers women, persons of color, and LGBTQ+ identities and stories.