Travel Reports
Chicago
Last year, on a baking hot day in August, I took a trip on the Architecture Foundation’s Architecture River Cruise. The commentary throughout the 90-minute tour was unceasing – there’s a lot to tell – and certain names cropped up again and again. Some will only be known to architecture aficionados; Holabird and Roche, Daniel H. Burnham, John Welborn Root. Others are perhaps familiar to those with a minor knowledge of the discipline; Mies van der Rohe, Frank Lloyd Wright. But one name everybody knew; Al Capone.
Of course, Capone never designed buildings, but his presence, once he was inside them, was hard to ignore. Most of the establishments he made (in)famous are off the River Cruise map or have long-since been demolished. Gone are the Metropole Hotel (which he used at his headquarters), the Warehouse of the S.M.G. Garage (immortalised by the St. Valentine’s Day massacre) and, most significantly, the Lexington Hotel (which became his headquarters once he’d abandoned the Metropole). It was at the Lexington that scores of secret tunnels, staircases and an underground vault helped facilitate his bootleg activities. The vault was unveiled on a very public TV show in 1986 with IRS men and law enforcers standing by for the expected loot of human remains and $800, 000 worth of missing taxes. However, all they found was a lot of dust and a couple of empty bottles of gin. Capone was running rings round them, even after his death.
Naturally it’s galling to the city council and Department of Tourism that Chicago’s most famous former resident was a gangster, a man so ruthless and bloody that he could dispatch seven of his enemies while dressed as a policeman, then force poor Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis to drag up as lady band members to make one of the most endearing film comedies ever…
But it must be especially galling when you take into account some of the city’s other achievements (although it has to be said some are more dubious than others). It is, for example, the place where they invented the Ferris Wheel; and the zip. It was the site of the first restaurant opened by the McDonald’s Corporation in 1955 (a Hamburger University followed in nearby Elk Grove six years later); the place where lovers Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb were tried for the murder of young Bobby Franks; and where Enrico Fermi first discovered nuclear chain reactions.
But today it is most fondly known as Jock Town due to its unusually high propensity of sports fans. Michael Jordan was a favoured adopted son when he moved here from New York, famous the world over even to those who have never watched a game of basketball. And this July the city played host to the Seventh Gay Games.
Chicago was never supposed to get these Games. That honour was due to have gone to Montréal, but after an unholy split in November 2003 between the US-based Federation Of Gay Games in Chicago, the Canadian city reluctantly elected to go it alone and host its own event, the first Out Games. The acrimony, like the Games, is now over. For the time being at least. But what became obvious throughout was that the Windy City does not blow cold for gay visitors and welcomes them with open arms. The city’s mayor, Richard Daley, appeared at the Opening Ceremony and pledged his support for gay marriage; The Games, held at venues across the city and its suburbs, forced competitors and spectators alike to scoot around the city with a minimum amount of trouble; and an estimated 20, 000 attended the closing ceremony to watch Cindy Lauper, dressed as a gay-friendly Statue Of Liberty, sing her 1986 hit True Colours.
That figure of 20, 000 may be smaller than the organisers might have liked, but long-term what the Games have done for gay tourism is harder to estimate. Especially as long-weekenders are getting more adventurous anyway.
The city started life as a fur traders’ outpost, but soon expanded as a strategic crossroads for industry. The expansion almost came to nothing when the city burnt to the ground in 1871. Since much of it was built of wood this is perhaps not surprising. But, true to the Spirit of America, city residents seized it as an opportunity to build again; only on bigger, better, bolder terms.
Approach from O’Hare airport and it appears like a mirage across the sweltering prairie; soaring towers of brick and mortar, glass and steel, thrust upwards. As the Architecture Foundation’s tours testify, architecture is what makes Chicago, literally, stand out. It probably even tops New York for the highest concentration of high and mighty buildings.
But walk along the Halsted (in what is colloquially known as Boystown) and what you’ll find is not high buildings, but a high concentration of gay bars, clubs and restaurants, from the Lucky Horseshoe Lounge Bar down by Belmont to the Marigold Bowling Arcade Bar on West Grace. Roscoe’s, however, is the centre of attention and not just because it’s located about half way down Halsted. It’s mainly twinks who frequent the large, three-bar area (with outdoor smoking lounge) watching sports and American comedy on the banks of large video monitors. For a more subdued (or at least quieter) mood, head upstairs to the small chill-out area.
Halsted is located far from the upward sprawl of downtown Chicago, between Wrigleyville and Lake View and in addition to the bars you’ll find plenty of smart boutique shops and pricey apartments. It’s also the location for the two-day Market Days jamboree (August 5th-6th), a street fair of stalls and beer, and impromptu dance routines and beer, and craft vendors and more beer.
I wouldn’t spend eight hours in economy class to see this, but I would to go to Oak Park, a near-west suburb made famous as the place where Frank Lloyd Wright made his home and studio. It’s a smallish building set just back from the road, but what it lacks in size it more than makes up for in content. Better still is to take a walk around the salubrious district and check out the large number of Prairie style homes he built in the neighbourhood. If you want to buy one be warned the waiting list is long and the price tags run into the millions.
Oak Park is also home to Ernest Hemingway’s birthplace and a tour will take you back to the early part of the twentieth century when ‘Papa’ was still but a baby. However, the stuffed animals and antique toys don’t quite give you a full picture of America’s most restless writer.
To get back to the real world (or at least the right century) head to the Gold Coast and the Oak Street Beach for a spot of eye candy. Although nicknamed the Windy City temperatures in summer can scorch and Chicagoans head to the sea-like Lake Michigan for sunbathing, boating and beach volleyball. And when they are not worshipping the God of physical pursuits you may also find them scouting out Hollywood stars at the world-famous Steppenwolf Theatre; sipping cocktails at the top of the John Hancock Centre on its 95th Floor (the views are incredible); or swinging their hips at the House of Blues brunch on Sunday mornings.
What you won’t find them doing – it’s just too everyday – is gazing up in wonder at the latest sky scraping building. They leave that to the ever-increasing number of tourists.
Essentials:
Getting There:
American Airlines flies from London Heathrow to Chocago O’Hare airport eight times daily> Log on to www.americanairlines.co.uk (see links) for booking and further information.
Accommodation:
Gay Times Travel stayed at the Sofitel Chicago Water Tower, 20 East Chestnut Street, a stunning addition to the city skyline and as impressive on the inside as it is out. Log on to www.sofitel.com (see links) for latest rates and more information.
Out and About:
Choose from a huge variety of tours held by the Chicago Architecture Foundation, including bus tours, walking tours or the very popular River Cruise. Discounts available if you book two tours or more. Log on to www.architecture.org for full details.
Halsted Market Days: Held annually by the Northalsted Area Merchants Association, Market Days is a community event that involves a lot of beer and displays by local businesses. Log on to www.northalsted.com for further details.
Boystown: Updated daily, the Boystown website is the most comprehensive resource to gay Chicago available on the web with a full list of city wide bars, clubs and events. www.boystownchicago.com for further details.
Frank Lloyd Wright The Frank Lloyd Wright home and studio is open for visits and tours and also organise occassional workshops. Log on to www.wrightplus.org for more information.
Ernest Hemingway: For more information on Ernest Hemingway’s Oak Park birthplace and a comprehensive feature on how the house was restored, log on to the Ernest Hemingway Foundation’s website, www.ehfop.org.
Steppenwolf Theatre: Located on Chicago’s North Side in the heart of Lincoln Park, the Steppenwolf attracts established theatre actors and big names from Hollywood keen to cash in on the kudos of one of the world’s best known theatre companies. For their latest productions log on to www.steppenwolf.org.
House of Blues: For jambalaya, peel-and-eat shrimp, chocolate chip brownies and corn muffins by the basket load, the House of Blues gospel brunch is a must-do event. Say Hallelujah every Sunday morning at 10am (second sitting 12.30pm). Log on to www.hob.com for further details.
Andrew Copestake