Previously these communities could only be traced as far back as the 1920s-but according to a recently uncovered ordinance from 1851 that prohibited openly dressing in opposite gender clothing, its clear these communities have been part of the Windy City’s DNA since its inception. Looks like we’ve been here-and we’ve been queer-since the city of Chicago was founded in the 1850s, according to the curators of “ Out in Chicago,” a new, expansive LGBT-related exhibit at the Chicago History Museum. The Gold Coast bar opened in 1958, making Chicago the first city in the country to have a leather bar.
Oil Painting Mural from Gold Coast bar, 1973, by Dom “Etienne” Orejudos.
