{"product_id":"a-place-for-us-gay-life-at-chicagos-belmont-rocks","title":"A Place for Us: Gay Life at Chicago's Belmont Rocks","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA Place for Us: Gay Life at Chicago’s Belmont Rocks\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eby\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eOwen Keehnen\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003ebrings a lost world of\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChicago LGBTQ history\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003evividly back to life. Before rainbow flags, before open-door bars, and before Pride was a season on the calendar, Chicago’s queer community carved out freedom on a jagged stretch of\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLake Michigan shoreline\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eat the end of Belmont Avenue. It wasn’t a beach. It was rock, concrete, sun, and possibility. Everyone knew it as the\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBelmont Rocks\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOften remembered as “a big gay carnival,” “a gay paradise,” and a place where everyone could just relax, the Rocks became an outdoor home base for\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003egay men, lesbians, and the wider queer community\u003c\/strong\u003e. People came to meet friends, flirt, cruise, people-watch, welcome newcomers, and feel, for a few bright hours, unafraid. In an era when many gay bars still had blackened windows, the lakefront offered something radical:\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003evisibility, community, and belonging in broad daylight\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDrawn from interviews with\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003emore than 100 firsthand witnesses\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eand illustrated with\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003emore than 115 photographs\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eA Place for Us\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003ecaptures the humor, heat, music, codes, courage, and everyday humanity of a beloved “gay beach” that helped shape\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003equeer Chicago\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003elong before the wider world caught up. Rich in memory and grounded in oral history, this book is essential reading for anyone interested in\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLGBTQ+ history\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003egay history\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChicago history\u003c\/strong\u003e, and the places where queer life was lived openly, joyfully, and together.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eOwen Keehnen is also the author of\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eMan’s Country: More Than a Bathhouse\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eand\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eGay Chicago Memories: 1300 N. Wells\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Rattling Good Yarns Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48766327259353,"sku":"90496","price":24.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/7493\/files\/a-place-for-us.png?v=1780081526","url":"https:\/\/foursided.com\/products\/a-place-for-us-gay-life-at-chicagos-belmont-rocks","provider":"Foursided","version":"1.0","type":"link"}