National Coming Out Day and the gay rights rally in Washington have both come and gone, but we’re going to keep the spirit alive for the rest of the week. On Wednesday I met up with @properties agent and “Windy City Guide” Bob Darrow at the corner of Halsted and Roscoe streets — “the heart of gay Chicago” — to take a tour of Boys Town. Bob and I spent the afternoon talking about the homes, businesses, and culture of the neighborhood, starting with this introductory chapter.
Check back the rest of this week for more videos from our Boys Town walk-around, as well as other Boys Town, Wrigleyville, and Lake View-centric posts.
A lot of gay men, myself included, consider the Boys Town in Lake View to be a bit passe and touristy today. The locus of the community is now a new or north Boystown somewhere in Edgewater continuing the gradual shift north since the 20’s. But don’t let that stop you from covering the area, there is still a large, if dwindling, gay presence there and it is a desirable area in many ways.
Sheridan B,
I think the stroller mom passing behind Bob Darrow as he locates “the heart of Boys Town” reinforces your point very well.
SheridanB:
We discuss the shift into neighborhoods like Uptown, Edgewater, and Andersonville later on in our tour. Stay tuned.
It’s not just the shift to Edgewater, but that gay people are becoming more integrated throughout the city.