Printer Friendly
The Free Library
14,582,462 articles and books
Member login
User name  
Password 
 
Join us Forgot password?

Great gay ways: Andy Towle walks on the wilder side of 10 streets around the globe.


COMMERCIAL STREET (from Franklin to Pearl), Provincetown, Mass.

The street's mix of lesbians, gay men, tourists, artists, writers, Portuguese fishermen, and drag queens This is a list of drag queens and female impersonators. Only those subjects who are notable enough for Wikipedia articles should be included here.

A
  • Courtney Act
  • J.
 makes it a living experiment in social interaction and tolerance. There's nothing quite like seeing Cher roller-skate through a New England New England, name applied to the region comprising six states of the NE United States—Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. The region is thought to have been so named by Capt.  fishing village. Sites: The Atlantic House (A-House) bar, once frequented by Tennessee Williams and Robert Mapplethorpe (who paid for drinks with art) and the location for performances by jazz legends like Ella Fitzgerald. Cornerstone: Spiritus Spiritus (Latin for "breathing"), may refer to:
  • Spiritus lenis, the "soft breathing" in Byzantine Greek orthography
  • Spiritus asper, the "hard breathing" in Byzantine Greek orthography
  • Spiritus
 Pizza, where crowds teem teem 1  
v. teemed, teem·ing, teems

v.intr.
1. To be full of things; abound or swarm: A drop of water teems with microorganisms.

2.
 when the bars close. Hot: Ryan Landry's Showgirls Cabaret. Not: The beach in front of the Boatslip after hours.

CASTRO STREET (from Market to 19th), San Francisco

A gay ghetto if ever one existed, famous for activism, street fairs, and Halloween, Marked by a 70-foot flagpole bearing a 20-by-30-foot rainbow flag. Sites: 575 Castro, once Castro Camera, the shop and residence of the late Harvey Milk and partner Scott Smith; the legendary Castro Theatre; 482 Castro (now Walgreen's), the address of a succession of gay bars, notably Toad Hall, which opened in 1971, rocking the scene at the time with its innovative use of tape cassettes instead of records. Cornerstone: Cliff's Variety, hardware, utilities, and novelties. Hot: People-watching atop one end of the wall at Harvey Milk Plaza at Market and Castro. Not: Sitting along the wall by the bushes with the junkies.

OXFORD STREET (from Hyde Park to Taylor Square), Sydney

Route of the flamboyant, enormous gay and lesbian Mardi Gras parade, Oxford is a street in transition and exemplifies the trend toward mixed neighborhoods and the destruction of the gay ghetto. Progress (and commerce) threatens to engulf en·gulf  
tr.v. en·gulfed, en·gulf·ing, en·gulfs
To swallow up or overwhelm by or as if by overflowing and enclosing: The spring tide engulfed the beach houses.
 gay history as high-end fashion stores move down from the Paddington end, swallowing up the more modest gay businesses closer to Taylor Square. Sites: The Albury Hotel, famous as the drag club in The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, traded in its stiletto heels for a pair or running shoes--it's now a Puma store. Cornerstone: Decades-old Aussie Boys clothing store, which has kept itself relevant by taking in high-end brands. Hot: Friday nights at the Midnight Shift. Not: Downstairs at the Oxford.

STE STE Saint (French)
STE Suite (US Postal Service)
STE Societe (French: Society)
STE Spanning Tree Explorer
STE Software Test Engineer
. CATHERINE STREET (from Amherst to Papineau), Montreal

The heart of Montreal's gay village, this strip is just one segment of a street that commercially defines the French Canadian city. Overall, the village is looking much better than it did several years ago, getting trendier, thanks to new businesses and renovations. Sites: Parc de L'Espoir (Hope Park). Cornerstone: Twenty-five-year-old Priape, a one-stop gay products store and Montreal's oldest and most renowned gay business. Hot: Sky nightclub's Sunday tea dance. Not: The corner of Champlain, where the prostitutes hang out.

CANAL STREET (from Chorlton to Princess), Manchester, England

Setting for the original Queer as Folk Queer as Folk may refer to:
  • Queer as Folk (UK TV series) (1999-2000), a British television series about a group of gay men
  • Queer as Folk (US TV series) (2000-2005), a North American remake of the British series
 series, the gritty working-class northern city boasts this vibrant street, which recently attracted the EuroPride 2003 festival to its sidewalks. The Heritage Lottery Fund also gave Manchester gays a controversial $68,000 to create a historical walking tour. Sites: Sackville Park, home of two sculptures celebrating gay life, including one honoring Alan Turing, the World War II Enigma Code cracker who was later arrested for homosexuality and committed suicide Cornerstone: The New Union, a bar that dates back to the 19th century. Hot: Hanging out at Spirit (adjacent to 46 Canal) with Manchester's gay rugby team. Local celeb ce·leb  
n. Informal
A celebrity.
: David Beckham.

SANTA MONICA BOULEVARD (from Doheny to Crescent Heights), West Hollywood, Calif.

The palm-lined strip got a face-lift in 2001 and hasn't lost its energy as the cruisiest street in town. Sites: The Troubadour troubadour

One of a class of lyric poets and poet-musicians, often of knightly rank, that flourished from the 11th through the 13th century, chiefly in Provence and other regions of southern France, northern Spain, and northern Italy.
 nightclub, where Elton really became a superstar; the first gay-owned bank, at the corner of San Vicente; the vacant Hollywood Stock Exchange building, formerly a furniture store owned for decades by the family of Herb Ritts. Cornerstone: Pavilions supermarket, the best pickup place in town. Hot: Sundays at Here Lounge (Thursdays for the girls) or next door at The Abbey. Not: The steam room at 24-Hour Fitness.

CHRISTOPHER STREET (from Sixth Avenue to the Hudson River), New York City New York City: see New York, city.
New York City

City (pop., 2000: 8,008,278), southeastern New York, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The largest city in the U.S.
 

This Greenwich Village street is known internationally as the birthplace of the modern gay rights movement, yet New Yorkers balk balk

the action of a horse when it refuses to obey a command to which it usually responds. See also jibbing.
 that there's anything happening here, despite several blocks of bars, boutiques, and businesses. It's the world's old gay uncle, still wearing clothes it bought in the '70s. Sites: The Stonewall Inn (53 Christopher), where gay history began in 1969. Cornerstone: Oscar Wilde Memorial Bookshop (15 Christopher), the world's first gay bookstore. Hot: The newly refurbished Christopher Street piers. Not: The Beach hair salon, getting your tips frosted.

REGULIERSDWARSSTRAAT (from Koningsplein to Thorbeckeplein), Amsterdam

While it seems the entire city may be a little gay, this particular lane stands out, However; Warmoesstraat and Amstel streets are not to be ignored, for there are more partying queens on these few blocks than in the rest of Europe. Sites: The Homomonument (see Orientation). Cornerstone: Sunday happy hour at Bar April, one of the city's oldest. Hot: You II is the only lesbian dance club in the city; for the boys it's Exit or Soho. Not: That depends on your level of liberation.

OLD COMPTON STREET Old Compton Street is located in Soho, London, England. The street was named after Henry Compton, who raised funds for a local parish church, eventually dedicated as St Anne's Church in 1686.  (from Charing Cross Road Charing Cross Road is a London street which runs north from Trafalgar Square to St Giles' Circus (the intersection with Oxford Street) and then becomes Tottenham Court Road. It is so called because it leads from Charing Cross.  to Wardour), London

The closest London gets to a 24-hour culture, scruffy Soho was once the center of the city's sex industry but has slowly changed to accommodate restaurants, coffee shops, and a large number of the city's gay bar--though like many gay neighborhoods, it feels a bit stale for the locals. Sites: Admiral Duncan pub The Admiral Duncan is a pub in Old Compton Street, Soho in the heart of London's gay district. It is named after Admiral Adam Duncan, who defeated the Dutch fleet at Camperdown in 1797.  (more popular than ever), where a devastating dev·as·tate  
tr.v. dev·as·tat·ed, dev·as·tat·ing, dev·as·tates
1. To lay waste; destroy.

2. To overwhelm; confound; stun: was devastated by the rude remark.
 nail bomb exploded and killed three people in an antigay attack in 1999. Cornerstone: Balan's restaurant, serving modern European cuisine. Hot: Girls Go Down, in the downstairs bar of G.A.Y., the street's newest lesbian hangout; smart lads head to Rupert Street.

NORTH HALSTED STREET (from Addison to Belmont), Chicago

While many gays are exiting Lakeview's Boystown district--because of housing costs--for Andersonville, centered along Clark Street to the north, you can't miss North Hoisted with its enormous rainbow pylons welcoming visitors. Because of a yuppie influx, strollers have almost replaced chaps as the accessory of choice, much to the chagrin of local gay business owners. Sites: The nearby Belmont Rocks on the lakeshore. Cornerstone: Sidetrack video bar. Hot: Hydrate hydrate (hī`drāt), chemical compound that contains water. A common hydrate is the familiar blue vitriol, a crystalline form of cupric sulfate. Chemically, it is cupric sulfate pentahydrate, CuSO4·5H2O.  (3458 N. Halsted) is the new place to be; Sidetrack on a Sunday afternoon is the old standby. Not: The back of the Ram bookstore.
COPYRIGHT 2004 Liberation Publications, Inc.
No portion of this article can be reproduced without the express written permission from the copyright holder.
Copyright 2004, Gale Group. All rights reserved. Gale Group is a Thomson Corporation Company.

 Reader Opinion

Title:

Comment:



 

Article Details
Printer friendly Cite/link Email Feedback
Title Annotation:Perfect 10
Author:Towle, Andy
Publication:The Advocate (The national gay & lesbian newsmagazine)
Geographic Code:1USA
Date:Feb 3, 2004
Words:1066
Previous Article:Travel queries.(Customs)
Next Article:Picture perfect: taking vacation photos to keep. Tips for the right cameras, angles, and attitudes.(travel matters)
Topics:



Related Articles
10 reasons gays chase straights: we've all done it, and some of us do it over and over again. What leads lesbian and gay grown-ups to abandon reason...
"Perverts," not gays.(Belgium)(Brief Article)
Summer movie preview: our annual guide to the gayest films of the season--and the ones that ought to be gayer.
Forever Florence: Felice Picano rekindles the forbidden passion and unmatched glory of Tuscany's perpetually blooming flower.
Hong Kong: a queer world opens in the New York of Asia.
Saugatuck: Michigan's secret treasure.(Our Towns)
America's next top role models: the courageous and outrageous queens of America's Next Top Model are more than ready for prime time.(Television)
Hooking up, finding love: In a world where being gay has challenges all its own, finding love can be a difficult task. In this special report we...
Beirut unexpected: once known as the Paris of the Middle East, this seaside city fell into chaos during Lebanon's prolonged civil war. Years later...
Meet the bloggers: Andy Towle.(on towleroad.com)(Website overview)(Brief article)

Terms of use | Copyright © 2009 Farlex, Inc. | Feedback | For webmasters | Submit articles