(Note: information listed has not been updated since the organization’s induction). Major figures in popular music have looked to Sidetrack for help in creating nationally released remixes. In addition, it has received accolades for outstanding architecture and creative entertainment. Barney Frank.Īs a business, Sidetrack has helped to lead the way in holding suppliers accountable to support LGBT communities through donations or sponsorships. Howard Dean, George Stephanopoulos, former Cook County Board President John H. Rod Blagojevich, Illinois State Treasurer Judy Baar Topinka, Mayor Richard M. 4.50 Reggies Chicago (2549 reviews) Bar with live music & pub fare 4.40 Howl at the Moon Chicago (2471 reviews) Dueling piano bar with a raucous crowd 4. Sidetrack has also welcomed dozens of political figures over the years for campaign appearances and lobbying opportunities, including Illinois Gov.
Every Christmas and anniversary party since 1988 saw Sidetrack coordinating donations of food and personal supplies for people with AIDS to the Northside Grocery Center.Īmong groups for which Sidetrack has been the host or has sponsored events are: AIDS Care Network Gay Officers Action League Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays Dignity/Chicago AIDS Legal Council of Chicago American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois Chicago Gay Men’s Chorus Asians & Friends–Chicago Chicago Metropolitan Sports Association Congregation Or Chadash Equality Illinois Association of Latino Men for Action (ALMA) Center on Halsted Gerber/Hart Library Children’s Place Lesbian Community Cancer Project NAMES Project/Chicago Pride Youth Gay and Lesbian Parents Group Chicago Gender Society Amigas Latinas Team Chicago About Face Theatre Test Positive Aware Network (TPAN) Chicago Area Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce ACT/UP Chicago Windy City Black Pride and Affinity Community Services. One night a month for several years, Sidetrack’s staff and management donated salaries and tips to Open Hand. For example, Sidetrack helped to sustain Open Hand Chicago’s meals-on-wheels program for people with AIDS when it started operations in 1988. During those years Sidetrack has hosted countless activist events and made untold donations of goods, services, and money.
Meanwhile, the growth of LGBT activism paralleled the bar’s own growth, and Sidetrack, its owners, and its staff became indispensable parts of that activism.Īt the time of its induction, Sidetrack was in its 25th year. Crowds grew, longer lines stretched up the block, and the bar’s quarters themselves expanded.
As the video bar phenomenon took hold nationally, Sidetrack’s custom, in-house video editing became increasingly sophisticated. The street already had a number of gay-owned businesses -including Jim Gates’ pioneering bar, Little Jim’s-but Sidetrack brought something hitherto unseen there: a musicvideo bar. In April 1982, Sidetrack opened its doors on a stretch of North Halsted IStreet that was still being “discovered” by gay Chicagoans.