Gay life in Chicago this week, back in... 1987, 1989 and 2001

(February 14-20, 2019)

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

1987

In the bars and clubs, it's Valentine's Day at Off Broadway, 1004 W. Belmont; Slammers, Dickies, Kool-AIDS, Schnapps, all 50c at North End, 3733 N. Halsted; the Gold Coast, 5025 N. Clark St. features barwench Kit Duffy; Somebody's Daughters perform at Christopher Street, 3458 N. Halsted; K.C. Helmeid entertains at Gentry, 712 N. Rush St.; all female band Candywine perform at Rivers Edge, 3548 N. River Rd., Franklin Park.

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IMAGE: Little Jim's Gay Chicago, June 6, 1985

TOP TEN Music playlist courtesy of Terri Bristol of Orbit Room and Medusa's: 1) "Murderous" – Nitzer Ebb; 2) "Fight for Your Right" – Beastie Boys; 3) "Fascinated" – Company B; 4) "Agraciva/Quite Unusual" – Front 242; 5) "Boris Bandinoff" – Farm Boy; 6) "Infected" – The The; 7) "Bam Bam Jam" – ESG; 8) "Jackin' Me Around" – Farm Boy; 9) "Disco (EP)" – Pet Shop Boys; 10) "On Command/Flesh" – A Split Second.

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IMAGE: Vortex – Gay Chicago, December 2, 1993

The Hyde Park Lesbian Support Group meets for a community discussion at 5540 S. Woodlawn.

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"Desert Hearts" and "Parting Glances" are playing at the Music Box, 3733 N. Southport.

1989

An Article in Windy City Times begins:

"On Saturday, February 18, lesbian and gay students representing groups from various local college and university campuses will meet to pursue the possibility of creating a regional alliance. The Pink Triangle Association of the University of Illinois at Chicago has offered to host a meeting at its central location – beginning at 4 p.m. in room 713 of Chicago Circle Center, 750 S. Halsted."

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For one night only, Denise Tomasello perform at Gentry, 712 N. Rush.

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IMAGE: Machine Shop Gay Life, October 24, 1985

Selections form Gay Chicago's Week in Preview:

Thursday, February 16, 1989: One of Chicago's most active dance troupes, the Rockets, hold a strip-off at Cheeks tonight. No matter what the temperature outside, it will be HOT on Clark Street tonight. If that warms you up so much that you need a drink, amble on over to Buddies and join Lenny's Slammer Chug-Off semi-finals. To get you in the mood for all this frivolity, you might want to start the evening at the Music Box Theatre where 'Friends Forever" continues its run. The hot Danish young men will certainly whet your appetite.

Friday, February 17, 1989: Rivers Edge celebrates three years in the 'burbs with a blow-out party that will include an hors d'oeuvres buffet, plenty of hot music, exotic dancers and who knows what else as they kick up their heels and get crazy.

Saturday, February 18, 1989: If you're the last of the red-hot mamas, part of the red scare, or red-y and able, you'll fit in at Carol's tonight. The bar goes totally red with drink specials for folks in red and the red-hot Viola (Stormy Weather) Wills entertaining.

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"All About Eve" and "Sunset Boulevard" are showing at the Music Box, 3733 N. Southport.

2001

An article in Windy City Times reads:

"The recent closing of the Cellblock bar's back room and a rumored raid at the Manhandler had tongues wagging in the community about a possible crackdown on the city's gay sex spaces, but sources at both bars said, in this case, fiction is stranger than truth.

"'We had some trouble with the roof," said Patti Brown, manager of the Cellblock, 3702 N. Halsted, on why the bar's back room has been closed. 'Hopefully it'll be open this weekend. We're working on it as we speak.'

"Contrary to bar buzz, he said, the closing was not related to a recent visit by Chicago police.

"'I could tell you 85 different rumors about why that room is closed, and none of them are true,' Brown said.

"The police responded to (an anonymous) complaint, they didn't find anything, and they left,' he said, 'We have a very good relationship with the police. They were here doing their job; it had nothing to do with us.'

"He noted that bar's owner is on a police department advisory committee.

"At the Manhandler, 1948 N. Halsted, a staffer who asked not to be identified also said the gossip mill had blown their situation out of proportion.

"They said there was a police raid? That's so funny,' he said. 'There was not a police raid. (A bartender) called the police' after confronting a disruptive customer who had been kicked out of the bar on a previous occasion.

"The man was arrested and faces a court date, he said.

"Rumors of a possible crackdown came as some said the incidents were suspiciously close to the November closing of Big Daddies, 2914 N. Broadway.

"According to the Chicago Department of Revenue, the bar's license expired on Nov. 15 and owners did not renew it.

"Some observers say the rumors speak to the community's fears about a new, Republican presidential administration.

"When police arrived at Cellblock, for instance, one patron reportedly turned to another and said, 'Welcome to the next four years.'"

Homework

Who remembers Terri Bristol at the Orbit Room?

Anybody ever go to the River's Edge?

Is Denise Tomasello still around?

Gay Chicago Photo Rewind

Terry Gaskins photographs Charlie's, AGLO, and the Metropolitan Sports Association

for Gay Chicago December 8, 1994

Gay Chicago December 10, celebrates Halloween 1994

Terry Hunter of Carol's Speakeasy in Gay Chicago January 4, 1979

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.