While visiting Boystown Chicago, it won’t take long to notice the 20 rainbow pylons that adorn 'Chicago's proudest neighborhood.' Boystown 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. The neighborhood is also home to the Center on Halsted, the Midwest’s largest LGBTQ community center that welcomes over 1000 people per day.
Broadway primarily offers a variety of themed shops and restaurants stretching throughout the neighborhood while Halsted caters to a lively nightlife with more than 30 different gay and lesbian bars, nightclubs and restaurants. and Broadway dominate the heart of this commercial and entertainment district. The two main (north-south) avenues of Halsted St. Rainbow crosswalk rendering (credit: northalsted business alliance)īoystown is situated just southeast of Wrigleyville in Lakeview. The first officially recognized gay village in the United States, Boystown Chicago is the commonly accepted nickname for the eclectic East Lakeview neighborhood that is home to Chicago's visible and active gay and lesbian community.
