Little Jim's Boystown 1975 Tapestry

Often described as the gay Cheers, Little Jim’s was the first gay bar in Boystown when it opened in 1975, making it the second-oldest gay bar in Chicago. In the early days, the bar had darkened windows to protect the safety of its customers. Within a few years of opening, more gay bars followed Little Jim's lead into the neighborhood. The divey, late-night spot became both a Boystown institution and one of the longest-running independently owned bars in the Chicago. A big part of the bar's legacy is that it was the first and only bar on Halsted Street to be fully integrated. Black, white, and Hispanic people all mingled and socialized there – literally everyone was welcome.