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1001 LGBTQ-Friendly Taverns, Haunts & Hangouts

Over 640 Photos!

“Last Call Chicago is a treasure trove of LGBTQ historical insight! Rick Karlin and St Sukie de la Croix have undertaken a comprehensive exploration of Chicago’s colorful gay past, revealing more than a thousand of the safe havens and communal spaces that allowed us to evolve into the diverse and vibrant community that we have become and presented it in a concise and well-executed tome. Their passion and enthusiasm for our queer journey is manifest in every entry. If only we had such far-reaching insight into all of our refuges.” – Art Smith, GayBarchives.com

“Last Call Chicago restores to life the vast world of bars that have been so vital to the queer community. It will release for readers a flood of memories and it provides future researchers a wealth of information.” —John D’Emilio, author of  Memories of a Gay Catholic Boyhood: Coming of Age in the Sixties

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Last Call Chicago: A History of 1,001 LGBTQ-Friendly Taverns, Haunts & Hangouts could not have been written by anyone but authors Rick Karlin and St Sukie de la Croix. Both are journalists with a keen eye for history, who reported on the events and comings and goings of Chicago’s LGBTQ-friendly bars and clubs. Last Call Chicago is a walk back in time-from the Speakeasies of the 1920s to the latest hot spots, and all done without looking at a single app.

Last Call Chicago: A History of 1,001 LGBTQ-Friendly Taverns, Haunts & Hangouts is a history of LGBTQ venues in Chicago going back in time as far as records of such venues exist. Both before and after Stonewall, LGBTQ bars and hangouts served the purpose of bringing the LGBTQ together and served as informal community centers. They were and are part of the vibrant fabric of the LGBTQ community. Opening Last Call Chicago is like stepping into a time machine that transports us across the years to bear witness to the triumphs, challenges, and sometimes heartaches of the LGBTQ community in Chicago.

As Terri Phoenix, director of the LGBTQ Center at UNC-Chapel Hill said recently at a vigil for the victims of the Orlando Pulse shooting, “It is important for people to understand that for LGBTQ communities, a gay bar is often a home for members of a community that may not feel safe … anyplace else in their lives … the club is a sanctuary, a community center, a home.”

Last Call Chicago is like a trip home.