Chicago gay neighborhood map
Andersonville, a Neighborhood for Everyone
Chicago's Andersonville neighborhood, known for its Swedish roots, historic architecture, and bustling urban main street, has one of the city's largest gay and lesbian communities, second only to Boystown.
The welcoming North Side neighborhood stretches from Foster Ave. to the south, Victoria St. to the north, Ravenswood Ave. to the west and Magnolia Ave. to the east.
Recognized as the “shop local capital of Chicago”, Andersonville’s commercial district and main shopping street, Clark St., features primarily independent, locally-owned boutiques and specialty stores.
In addition, the area features a number of homosexual and lesbian bars, nightclubs and some of Chicago’s best restaurants.
Andersonville hosts Midsommarfest, one of Chicago’s most legendary street festivals, in early June. The annual event kicks off the summer neighborhood street festival season.
The Andersonville Chamber of Commerce is committed to equality, making Andersonville a ne
Northalsted, Chicago's Proudest Neighborhood
The first officially recognized gay village in the United States, Boystown Chicago is the commonly acknowledged nickname for the eclectic East Lakeview neighborhood recognizable as Northalsted that is home to Chicago's visible and active lesbian, gay, attracted to both genders and transgender community.
Northalsted, the first official gay neighborhood in the country (credit: )
Northalsted is situated just southeast of Wrigleyville in Lakeview. The area is bordered by Broadway Ave. on the east and Halsted St. on the west, Grace St. to the north and Belmont Ave. to the south.
The two main (north-south) avenues of Halsted St. and Broadway control the heart of this commercial and entertainment district. Broadway primarily offers a variety of themed shops and restaurants stretching throughout the neighborhood while Halsted caters to a lively nightlife with more than 30 different gay and lesbian bars, nightclubs and restaurants.
The neighborhood is also home to the Center on Halsted, the Midwest’s largest
The Top 5 Neighborhoods To Live In Chicago If You're LGBTQ+
Now a gayborhood in Chicago's far north side, Andersonville was once the beating heart of Chicago's Swedish population. The Swedish American Museum is still there, and its commercial strip is recognized as a National Historic District for its Swedish heritage and notable architecture.
The Women and Children First bookstore has been a neighborhood magnet for gay women since it opened in It features 30, women-oriented volumes, with a focus on feminist, lesbian, and gay works. It was one of the first women-owned businesses, along with lesbian bars, that soon populated the area. As a result, Andersonville became known as "Girlstown" in ironic contrast to "Boystown." According to Gay Move, Andersonville has more same-sex married couples than any other zip code in the entire express. However, rising prices have caused many of the female-oriented businesses to finalize, leading to a changing demographic. Formerly a haven for queer women, Andersonville now has more married couples who are men than lesbians.
TimeOut touts the neig
As one of the busiest industrial centers and transportation hubs in the United States, Chicago at the beginning of the twentieth century attracted thousands of single women and men with modern employment opportunities and nonfamilial living arrangements in the lodging-house districts of the Near North and Near South Sides. The anonymous and transient nature of these neighborhoods permitted the development of Chicago's lesbian and gay subculture. During the early years of the century, much of this subculture was centered in the Levee, a working-class entertainment and vice district. Here, several saloons and dance halls catered to same-sex attracted men and featured female impersonation acts. By , the Vice Commission of Chicago noted the presence of “whole groups and colonies of these men who are sex perverts,” many of them active as department-store clerks in the Loop. The lesbian presence in the city was less noticeable during these years, in part because many working-clas