 Lakeview, Chicago, 2015 | |
| Company type | Book store |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1980 |
| Founder | Edward Devereux |
| Headquarters | , |
| Owner | Edward Devereux |
| Website | unabridgedbookstore.com |
Unabridged Bookstore is an independent bookstore started in 1980 by Edward Devereux. [1] Unabridged Bookstore opened on November 1, 1980, [2] with two business partners and $18,000. [3] Unabridged Bookstore is known for its dedicated and knowledgeable staff. Hand-written, personal recommendations from employees line the shelves. [4] [5]
Originally started as a one storefront on the 3200 block of North Broadway in the Lakeview neighborhood of Chicago. [6] The store now occupies three storefronts and is one of the biggest independent bookstores. One of the oldest independent bookstores in Chicago and one of the only bookstores in the city focused on LGBTQ literature, "viewed as somewhat of a radical business plan" [7] since its opening in the 1980s. Over the years the bookstore has become known for its chalkboard quotes [8] and "its large selection of LGBTQ titles." [9] Unabridged Bookstore has specialized in selling well-known and obscure gay and lesbian literature. [10]
Unabridged has an unparalleled sale book section, and an award-winning children's section, an extensive travel room, and offers a great selection of fiction and poetry. For more than 35 years, [11] Unabridged Bookstore has also been Chicago's premier go-to-bookstore for LGBTQ literature and one of the coolest indie bookstores in the United States. [12]
Voted "Best Bookstore in Chicago 2015" by Chicago Magazine, [13] Unabridged remains an iconic institution in the Lakeview neighborhood.
Dorothy Louise Taliaferro "Del" Martin and Phyllis Ann Lyon were an American lesbian couple based in San Francisco who were known as feminist and gay-rights activists.
Lakeview is one of the 77 community areas of Chicago, Illinois. Lakeview is located on the city's North Side and is bordered by West Diversey Parkway on the south, West Irving Park Road on the north, North Ravenswood Avenue on the west, and the shore of Lake Michigan on the east. The Uptown community area is to Lakeview's north, Lincoln Square to its northwest, North Center to its west, and Lincoln Park to its south. The 2020 population of Lakeview was 103,050 residents, making it the second-largest Chicago community area by population.
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The Chicago Pride Parade, also colloquially called the Chicago Gay Pride Parade or PRIDE Chicago, is an annual pride parade held on the last Sunday of June in Chicago, Illinois in the United States. It is considered a culmination of the larger Gay and Lesbian Pride Month in Chicago, as promulgated by the Chicago City Council and Mayor of Chicago. Chicago's Pride Parade is one of the largest by attendance in the world. The event takes place outside and celebrates equal rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people, which is also known as the celebration of LGBTQ rights.
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The Hypocrites is a Chicago storefront theater company founded in 1997 by Sean Graney, Brandon Kruse and Christopher Cintron. The company is currently run by Sean Graney and Kelli Strickland. One of Chicago’s premier off-Loop theater companies, The Hypocrites specializes in mounting bold productions that challenge preconceptions and redefining the role of the audience through unusual staging and direct engagement. The company has a reputation in Chicago for creating exciting, surprising, and deeply engaging theater as it re-interprets well-known works for contemporary audiences, reveling in the absurd while revealing the core of what makes classics classic.
“The Hypocrites, who with each new production, continue to rise not just to the rank of one of our city’s best storefronts but one of Chicago’s best theaters period.” – Newcity Stage
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The LGBTQ community in Chicago is one of the United States' most prominent, especially within the Midwest, alongside those of San Francisco and New York City, and holds a significant role in the progression of gay rights in the country. With a population of around 3 million, Chicago is the third biggest city in the US, and around 150,000 of those people identify as lesbian, bisexual, gay, transgender, questioning, or other.
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Charles "Chuck" Renslow was an American businessman, known for pioneering homoerotic male photography in the mid-20th-century US, and establishing many landmarks of late-20th-century gay culture and leather culture, especially in the Chicago area. His accomplishments included the cofounding with Tony DeBlase of the Leather Archives and Museum, the co-founding with Dom Orejudos of the Gold Coast bar, Man's Country bathhouse, and the International Mr. Leather competition, and the founding by himself alone of Chicago's August White Party, and the magazines Triumph, Rawhide, and Mars. He was a romantic partner of Dom Orejudos as well as Chuck Arnett, Samuel Steward, David Grooms, and Ron Ehemann.
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Women & Children First is an independent bookstore located at 5233 North Clark Street in the Andersonville neighborhood in Chicago. The store was founded in 1979 by Ann Christophersen and Linda Bubon as a feminist bookstore and place to celebrate and support women authors and members of the Chicago community. Women & Children First specializes in books by and about women, children's books, and LGBT literature.