I received the following e-mail from Bob M.
'First gay bars. I turned 21 in 1960. The Night Life at State and Walton. Drag shows. Shoreline 7 at Division near State. Drag shows and a very funny 26 girl with LOTS of cleavage.
'Sam's at Clark and Division. Long rectangular bar, beer cases lined up against the north wall, jukebox and bowling machine to the right as you walked through the front door. My all-time favorite. Not extremely heavy cruising—sort of like a gay Cheers, gorgeous co-owner Wally Fleischman, and prostitutes having a drink to get off their feet for awhile. It had a 4 a.m. license (then trips to Louis Gage's in Stone Park 'til 10 a.m. or so).
'The neighborhood was yesterday's version of Halsted Street. Nearby bars were Jamies, Gold Coast (several incarnations), Toast of the Town. There was a titillating chance of being raided at any moment (how boring gay became when it got legal!). Then the buildings started to be torn down to make room for Sandberg Village. I remember the drugstore at Dearborn and Division where poppers and pills were dispensed in little paper bags. Pills of choice: Benzedrine and Tuinals ā¦ you tried to strike a balance but usually ended up falling off your barstool (or I did). God, I loved it all!'
The Nite Life was a major drag bar located at 933 N. State St. I don't know when it opened but it burned down early in 1973. An intriguing mention in a gossip column in the Chicago Gay Crusader said: 'Ira Gruenberg of the Nite Life was indicted for perjury in denying that he had made payoffs.'
The Shoreline 7 at 7 W. Division was rumored to be owned by Al Capone's brother Ralph, but was actually owned by Ralph Marco. The bar was really called the Shoreline, but on the matchbooks it said Shoreline, then underneath 7, then West Division, so everyone called it the Shoreline 7.
The 26 dice girl that Bob mentioned was Fran Wilson, who also sometimes worked at the Front Page bar. I've been told she sold Benzedrine out of her bra and had a mouth like a trucker.
Dee LoBue remembers Fran Wilson this way: 'Oh Lord have mercy! Frannie herself ... 'Say something nice, Frances.' ... 'Oh go fuck yourself.' That's Frances for you. She was a 26 girl. Flaming red hair, heavy build, great personality, the biggest eyes you could possibly think of because she was always on uppers, and she was just a joy to be around. Loved gay kids. If I'm not mistaken, she was married and had a daughter. See, it's coming back. Very nice woman, but what happened to her, I can't tell you. If she's still living she has to be maybe 90 by now.'
Letter from Rob C ā¦
'I had wondered why you never mentioned the Oasis on Howard Street as a gay bar. It was my first—and only—gay bar in Chicago between 1954 and 1959 when I lived in Rogers Park after returning from the Korean War army service.
'It was very low key and served great hamburgers at the bar. (You had to keep your) hands on the bar and 'kneeseys' below. You had to be careful not to go to the washroom at the time. Surreptitious eye contact and 'knees' action and you would meet in the parking lot out back by leaving through the rear door. The bar was located on the south side of Howard Street, a block west of the L station.
'Then I moved to Los Angeles for a few years before returning to Chicago. L.A. was my 'post-graduate' education in gay bars—mostly beer and wine joints on Sunset and points west.'
As late as 1972 there was a gay bar called the Oasis at 1745 W. Howard, which I assume is the same place Rob talks about. It was true that back then gay men had to keep their hands on the bar and were certainly not allowed to touch each other even in a friendly way.
If you have memories to share, contact Sukie de la Croix at Windy City Times. You can leave a message on his voicemail at 773-871-7610. He collects memories and interviews over the phone, in person, or via e-mail sukiedelacroix@ozhasspoken.com