From historical landmarks to vibrant nightlife and enriching cultural activities, Chicago offers endless opportunities to enjoy LGBTQ+-friendly experiences, making it a welcoming city for all.
Lakefront at Belmont Ave | Lakeview
AIDS Garden Chicago is the city’s first public monument to memorialize the early days of Chicago’s HIV epidemic, and to honor those who continue to fight against the disease today. The garden’s centerpiece is the massive Keith Haring statue “Self-Portrait.” Around the garden, QR codes lead visitors to videos from survivors, activists, doctors, and more.
111 S Michigan Ave
Explore LGBTQ+-themed tours that highlight queer narratives in art history. The Art Institute of Chicago boasts a collection of more than 300,000 works, including queer artists such as Andy Warhol, David Hockney, Beauford Delaney, and John Singer Sargent. Its permanent home was built in 1893, with a modern wing, designed by Renzo Piano, completed in 2009.
6500 N Clark St 2nd Fl | Rogers Park
The Gerber/Hart Library and Archives, founded in 1981, is the largest circulating library of gay and lesbian titles in the Midwestern United States. Located in Chicago’s Rogers Park neighborhood, it houses over 14,000 volumes, 800 periodical titles, and 100 archival collections.
5800 N DuSable Lake Shore Drive | Edgewater
Osterman Beach, commonly referred to as Hollywood Beach, is officially named after Kathy Osterman, the Chicago politician who fought for gay rights in the 1980s. The sandy beach along Lake Michigan attracts a diverse group. The southernmost portion of the beach is marked by pier painted as a pride flag.
800 S Halsted | Little Italy
A National Historic Landmark, the Jane Addams Hull-House Museum remains dedicated to peace advocacy and social justice, while also featuring an impressive display of furniture, photographs, and artwork from the period. Explore with a guided or self-guided tour.
6418 N Greenview Ave | Rogers Park
Take a self-guided tour through eight fascinating exhibition galleries, including the Dungeon, featuring S&M and bondage equipment, a leather bar diorama, a leather history timeline, a guest artist gallery, and 20 murals by the celebrated erotic artist Etienne. The museum is open to patrons 18 years of age and over.
3245 – 3703 N Halsted | Northalsted
The Legacy Walk features 35 memorial markers, which are fixed to 25-foot rainbow pylons in Chicago’s historic Northalsted (also known as Boystown) neighborhood. The markers commemorate the life and work of notable LGBTQ heros.
Chicago's LGBTQ Neighborhoods
The first officially recognized gay village in the United States, Boystown is the commonly used nickname for the eclectic East Lakeview neighborhood known as Northalsted that is home to Chicago’s visible and active lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.
The neighborhood 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 LGBTQ community center.
Northalsted hosts a number of annual events — Chicago Pride Fest, the Chicago Pride Parade and Northalsted Market Days — drawing over one million people to the North Side neighborhood each summer.
Chicago’s Andersonville neighborhood, known for its Swedish roots, historic architecture, and bustling urban main street, has one of the city’s LGBTQ communities, second only to the Northalsted neighborhood.
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 gay 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 Uptown neighborhood, and Edgewater to its north, are both LGBTQ-friendly neighborhoods.
A number of LGBTQ bars including Big Chicks and The Baton Show Lounge and health centers including Howard Brown Health, which provide health services to the LGBTQ community and its allies, help residents feel at home in Uptown.
You can also catch a show at the Pride Arts Center, which presents queer theatre, movies, and comedy that resonates with all audiences.
And if you’re looking for a gay-friendly beach in Chicago, it would have to be Kathy Osterman Beach – locals call it Hollywood Beach – in Edgewater.
This welcoming lakefront enclave of Rogers Park on the city’s far north side is home to a fascinating slice of LGBTQ history.
The Gerber/Hart Library and Archives is the largest circulating collection of LGBTQ books and historical items in the Midwest. Their rotating exhibits cover everything from local drag icons to queer sports groups.
Also in Rogers Park, the Leather Archives & Museum, an adults-only museum celebrating the history of leather and fetishism across sexual orientations.
Rogers Park is also home to the Glenwood Avenue Arts District and a number of LGBTQ bars and restaurants.
