An article in Windy City Times begins:
"Early Saturday morning, a fire swept through Touche, a long-established leather bar on Lincoln Avenue, destroying the bar and bringing to an end an era for Chicago's leather community.
"According to preliminary reports, the extra-alarm fire began between 5:00 and 5:30 on Saturday morning, probably starting in a rear first-floor storage area containing electrical circuitry and the furnace.
"'The bar is a complete loss,' said owner Chuck Rodocker. 'The rear of the bar and the roof are destroyed, and there was extensive damage to the remainder.' Nothing of significant value could be saved, he said.
"Touché has been a gay bar since 1976 and was scheduled to celebrate its 14th anniversary later this month. It was bought by Rodocker in the fall of 1977 and under his ownership became one of the triumvirate of bars which served the city's vigorous leather community-the Gold Coast, Redoubt, and Touche.
"With the closing of the Redoubt and the Gold Coast after both made unsatisfactory attempts to relocate away from the River North area, Touche remained Chicago's one outpost of leather in the city."
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Circle Theatre presents "What Ever Happened to B.B. Jane?" at the Synergy Center, 1753 N. Damen.
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Poetry reading and book signing of "Diamonds Are a Dykes Best Friend" at People Like Us Bookstore, 3321 N. Clark.
2009
An article by Amy Wooten and Matt Simonette in the Chicago Free Press begins:
"On Friday evening, Scarlet Bar co-owner Paul Cannela stood inside the wreckage of his Halsted Street bar before workers boarded up the fire-damaged building.
"'I'm still in shock,' Cannela said, looking around at the smoky and soaked space in disbelief.
"Earlier that morning, the three-story building at 3320 N. Halsted St. that housed the relatively new bar (it just celebrated its one-year anniversary in December) went up in an extra-alarm blaze that, at one point, over 100 firefighters tackled at once."
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