Boystown, Illinois, United States

🇺🇸 Boystown, United States. The Boystown section of Lakeview holds the distinction of being the nation's first officially recognised gay village. In 1998, then Mayor Richard M. Daley endeavored to create a $3.2 million restoration of the North Halsted Street corridor, and the city erected rainbow pylon landmarks along the route. In 2012, the Legacy Project began the ongoing process of installing plaques on the pylons that commemorate important people and milestones in LGBT history. It is also the cultural centre of one of the largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) communities in the nation. Boystown has grown into a cultural centre for the LGBT residents living within the Chicago metropolitan area. The area caters to Chicago nightlife, featuring more than 60 gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender bars, restaurants and nightclubs. It is now home to Center on Halsted, a LGBT community centre that hosts an array of public programs open to the public that provide fun, educational and enlightening opportunities for members of the LGBT community and allies.

The Area is host to the Chicago Pride Parade, one of the largest gay pride parades in the nation, takes place in Lakeview on the last Sunday of each June. The community area has also been host to several other major events: In 2006 it played host to an international sports and cultural festival, Gay Games VII, with its closing ceremonies held at Wrigley Field and headlined by Cyndi Lauper. The area also holds the Northalsted Market Days, an annual two-day festival event geared toward the LGBT community. Northalsted also includes some of Chicago's off-Loop theater, specialty restaurants, greystone and brownstone walk-up buildings and other historic architecture, trendy fashion outlets, wine boutiques, chain stores, and independent shops.

The district's informal boundaries, overlapping with Lakeview East, are Irving Park Road on the north, Broadway on the east, Wellington Avenue on the south, and Sheffield Avenue on the west. The Center on Halsted, an LGBT community centre, is also located in this area.