+
submit
  • House

(The) Belmont Rocks

Belmont Ave and North Lake Shore Drive

In 2003 the City of Chicago paved over The Belmont Rocks, obliterating what artist Doug Ischar called the “most central and visible gay beach in North America.” The destruction of one of the few public spaces in the city where interracial queer conviviality took place by the light of day, a terrain some house fans remember fondly as the site of Frankie Knuckles’ post-pride parade DJ sets, helped to purge public
black, Latino, as well as white working class and youth cultures, from the city’s Lakeview neighborhood.

1990s

+
submit

Getting to The Rocks

When Shaun J. Wright was sixteen, he convinced a group of his friends to come with him to The Belmont Rocks on a Saturday afternoon after his mom had taken them shopping at Walmart and the Spiegel outlet. Blasting Daft Punk's Homework, they drove around trying to figure out how to get to The Rocks without going through traffic, but never made it.

1 Related Artists