A Chicago neighborhood beat out Los
Angeles and San Francisco to be named “incomparable gay
neighborhood” by the readers of Out Traveler.
“Are you surprised?” Out Traveler editors wrote in
revealing the winner.
Chicago's Boystown neighborhood, located on the city's North Side,
fans out from Halsted Street, considered the neighborhood's main
artery.
“The neighborhood has everything you could want: bars, clubs,
restaurants, architecture, walkability, its own El stop, and now
marriage equality (Illinois legalized same-sex unions in 2013),”
the magazine's editors
wrote.
Chicago's annual Gay Pride parade attracted over 1 million revelers
to the neighborhood in June. The city also has the Midwest's largest
LGBT community center. More than 1,000 people walk through the
Center on Halsted's doors every day. Distinctive rainbow pylons were
added to the neighborhood in the late 90s.
Neighborhoods vying for the annual prize included West Hollywood-Los
Angele's Boystown, Madrid's Chueca, Barcelona's Eixample and San
Francisco's The Mission.