Chicago gay beach
It’s been talked about for over 2 years now – now it’s a reality for 2010!
Hollywood / Osterman (gay) Beach in Chicago gets a long overdue makeover.
Late last summer, the Chicago Planning Commission approved plans for a new beach house and landscaping at Osterman Beach. The brand-new facility will open by Memorial Day, and will include showers and modifying areas for lifeguards.(?)
What does this mean? Who knows. Ground has been broken and we have placed a call to the Planning Commission and have not got an answer advocate yet.
We were told last year, the recent building would include new toilets. A concession stand. And a lockerroom and showere area for the lifeguards.
Foster Beach and Montrose Beach got nice makeovers over the last couple years. It is unclear yet, how the Osterman venture will compare. This image was online at PBC Chicago. They are calling it a comfort station. You will notice, there are no gays in the rendering!
In 2009, we saw A LOT more
On the southernmost corner of Edgewater’s Kathy Osterman Beach, the usual sounds of children laughing and waves crashing are drowned out by the thumps of a pop anthem, usually the vocals of a queen. By noon regulars have staked out spots along the shoreline, put up tents, and are well into sandy festivities.
You can hope for to find a large and lively crowd between the Kathy Osterman Beach House and the rainbow beacon that serves as the beach’s southern border, especially on heated weekends. Though most come in little groups or alone, the collective is like a beehive, each person doing a separate but connected activity. Here the queers own both officially and unofficially made the space theirs.
If Sidetrack and Roscoe’s are weekend nighttime staples in Northalsted, Osterman Beach (aka Hollywood Beach) is the daytime counterpart, serving as both a precursor to evening festivities and a balm the morning after.
More than a few beachgoers told me that running into familiar faces is just a part of the experience at the beach. Mo, an Afro Arab bodybuilder, says the beach feels less claustrophobic and more relaxed than the lgbtq+ bar scene in Andersonville and Lakeview. Johnny,
It is apt that the gay beach in Chicago, popularly called Hollywood Beach, is officially named after Kathy Osterman, the Chicago politician who fought for gay rights in the 1980s. It is arguably one of the top kept secrets in gay travel.
The beach is full of pure white sand that, on a sunny Midwest night, makes you trust that you are in Florida rather than Illinois. You’ll also find a friendly, down-to-earth crowd with a lot less attitude than other US beaches on the south coast.
Note that smoking is not permitted on any Chicago beach. On the upside, there is free wi-fi offered by the metropolis council.
How to procure there
There is no car park by the beach so it is top reached by general transport You can take the 147 (Outer Drive Express), 84 (Peterson) or 151 (Sheridan) buses and get off at Ardmore. From there, walk towards the lake. If you come by train, take the red line, obtain off at Bryn Mawr (six stops north of Belmont at Boystown) and again walk under Lakeshore Drive towards St Andrews church and the lake. Once you get to the beach, chief to the southern part close to the pier which is exclusively homosexual. Last updated:03-13-2014Chicago: so nice, you’ll think it’s hitting on you
For a queer ol’ time, follow the rainbow to the Midwest. In this part of the country, Chicago is “the city,” but one that largely puts aside those big-city rules. In dating terms, Chi-Town doesn’t wait two days to call you back after a date. Friendly and inviting, it’s the city that forgot that big cities are supposed to have an attitude.
Architecture aficionados and novices keep their eyes facing upwards to take in the grandeur. For closer-to-the-ground pleasurable, do your duty as a tourist and head to Millennium Park. Get out your camera because you’re about to join “The Bean” (which sounds prefer a horrible come on). Officially, the stunning sculpture is called Cloud Gate, but for reals, it looks like a vast shiny bean. Try as they might, no queer can resist a reflective surface. There’s lots more to see in and around the park, including the Art Institute of Chicago. Not just for art fags, this is an era-spanning collection that will even impress those who don’t like museums.
During nice weather, can you really pass up a day at the beach? Though technically landlocked, Lake Michigan does a great ocean feeling. An astounding 2