March 31-April 6, 2016

Gay life in Chicago this week, back in...

1982

In Here's Looking at You in Gay Chicago, Nancy Reiff and Ralph Paul write:

" ...stop out at the new Celebrity Club in the Grand Plaza Hotel on Mannheim Road not far from the Rosemont Horizon. We received quite a warm welcome opening night last week from Roger Franz, the hotel's promotion director. He showed us some of the spacious rooms that will be available at reduced rates to guests of the club. The Olympic size swimming pool could prove to be a real winner with bar and food service at poolside this summer.

"The other opening this week was Lunde's Bus Stop on the corner of North Clark and Grand. Opening last Saturday, the day brought forth many friends of Lunde to welcome him in his new venture. The Bus Stop has been completely remodeled and bears no resemblance to the former occupant, the St. Regis Hotel bar and restaurant."

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IMAGE: Black Bra Party – Nightspots January 31, 2007

The Top Ten Dance Hits courtesy of DJ Lou DiVito at the Bistro: 1) "The Visitors" – Abba; 2) "Tainted Love/Where Did Our Love Go" – Soft Cell; 3) "Don't Come Crying to Me" – Linda Clifford; 4) "We Got the Beat/Our Lips Are Sealed" – Go-Go's; 5) "Native Love" – Divine; 6) "Jump Shout" – Lisa; 7) "Best Part of Breaking Up" – Roni Griffith; 8) "Tell Me That I'm Dreaming" – Was (Not Was); 89) "Glad to Know You" – Chas Jenkel; 10) "Murphy's Law" – Cheri.

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An article in Gay Chicago begins:

"Chicago, in tight voting last week in San Francisco, was selected by the North American Gay Amateur Athletic Alliance (NAGAAA) to host the 12-inch softball 1983 Gay World Series to be held Aug. 31 through Sept. 4, 1983.

"Other cities bidding for the prestigious tournament were Atlanta, Houston and Minneapolis. The series originally had been awarded to New York, but delegates from the Big Apple recently declined to host the tournament which forced NAGAAA to select a new host site."

1998

An article by P.J. Engelbrecht in Outlines begins:

"The current incarnation of a bill which would amend the Illinois human rights code to provide bias protections to lesbians and gays, House Bill 3636 may have reached a vote so soon as late afternoon Tuesday, March 31, as this week's Outlines went to press.

"HB3636 would amend Illinois' existing anti-bias statute to outlaw discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in housing, employment, credit and public accommodations."

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IMAGE: Girlbar – Nightlines July 17, 1996

Quotelines in Outlines:

"I wasn't uncomfortable. It's just not one of those things that makes me feel awkward. I also had a scene with a woman in 'Foxfire,' but when the reviews came out, basically all they said was 'Angelina Jolie' has great tits.'" – Angelina Jolie on her sex scenes with Elizabeth Mitchell in the movie "Gia."

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An article in Outlines begins:

"John Marshall Law School professor and openly gay attorney Mark E. Wojcik has been nominated to run for the Board of Managers of the Chicago Bar Association, the CBA announced Friday, March 27.

"Wojcik is currently chair of the CBA's Committee on the Legal rights of Lesbians and Gay Men. He attributes his rise in the CBA to visibility gained working for CBA backing of HB 3636, a Committee effort which was ultimately successful."

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IMAGE: Girlbar – Nightlines July 3, 1996

Local lesbian photographer Adrien Pikovsky's exhibit "One Brief Moment in Time" is on display at A Taste of Heaven bakery, 1701 W. Foster.

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The Coalition of Rainbow Pagans has its monthly meeting at 7612 N. Rogers Ave.

2010

Article by Steven Chaitman in Windy City Times begins:

"After winning the majority of state Democratic officials' votes on Saturday, Sheila Simon will be Gov. Pat Quinn's running mate in the Nov. 2 election.

"Simon, 49, is a native of Carbondale, Ill. and the daughter of late distinguished Illinois politician Paul Simon. She served four years on the Carbondale City Council, capped by an unsuccessful run at mayor in 2007; she is currently a clinical associate professor of law at Southern Illinois University—Carbondale."

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Obituary for Jim Dohr, written by Andrew Davis in Windy City Times:

"Jim Dohr, a gay-rights activist who was very active in the leather scene, has passed away. He was 59. ...Dohr worked at the Chicago Department of Health as director of administrative services.

In the archives of the now-defunct gay newspaper Outlines, Dohr talked about the first gay bar he visited: "I believe it was one of three bars, either Ruthie's, Shari's, or the old Annex, which were all on Clark Street. The Annex was approximately where the Lakeview Health Clinic is now.

"That had to be the summer of '69. I came out earlier that year on a train going down to Southern Illinois University. On the train I met some people I knew from the same dormitory, and one of them pulled out a porn magazine. Needless to say I got instantly hard and everybody said, 'Oh yeah, you're gay.' I kind of knew I was gay already, but I didn't know there was a whole world of people out there."

"Longtime friend Gary Chichester e-mailed Windy City Times, "Jim Dohr and I [had] been friends for almost 35 years. We 'grew up' together both managing the Gold Coast Bar and producing International Mr. Leather. Jim loved to travel and one of my fondest memories is of him and I doing our 'Thelma and Louise' down to Florida. What a trip that was! We took the time to do what ever we wanted, from the Great Smoky Mountains to Disney World and everything in between.

"I could always count on Jim for being a true friend without pretension or animosity. Jim would always tell it like it is.

"I will deeply miss Jim Dohr."

Homework

Does anyone know who Lunde was/is?

Who danced to "Tainted Love" at the Bistro?

Why did Girlbar close?

Gay Chicago Photo Rewind

Kyle Henderson and Jerry Nunn photograph for Nightspots April 1, 2015

The Flesh Hungry Dog Show at Jackhammer April 9, 2008

Kirk Williamson photographs Windy City Gay Idol contest for Nightspots April 9, 2008

Thanks go to publishers Michael Bergeron for Chicago Gay Crusader, Ralph and Craig Gernhardt for Gay Chicago, Grant Ford and Chuck Renslow for Gay Life, Malone Sizelove for Babble/Gab, David Costanza and others for Chicago Free Press, Jeff McCourt for Windy City Times, Stacy Bridges and Mark Nagel for GRAB, and Tracy Baim for all the publications at the Windy City Media Group, which aided the above research. St. Sukie de la Croix is an internationally published reporter, playwright, photographer and historian. He is also the author of Chicago Whispers: A History of LGBT Chicago Before Stonewall published by the University of Wisconsin Press.