Chicago Queer History Walking Tours: State Street

State Street is Chicago’s Main Street and Queer Chicagoans have long used it for a variety of purposes. Learn about sex work in the city’s “Levee District” in the first decade of the 20th Century, a tattooing college professor who helped shape the city’s leather scene, 19th century male and female impersonators who were the toast of the town and other stories of Chicago Queer History

When: Saturday, July 25, 1 pm
Start: Dearborn Park (865 S Park Terrace)
End: Chicago The Old Marshal Fields (111 N State St)
Distance: apx 1 mile

The University of Illinois Chicago Gender and Sexuality Center presents a series of Chicago Queer History Walking Tours for Summer 2026. Tours are conducted by Daniel Williams, a political science professor who’s been bringing the details of Chicago’s queer past to life on social media. Follow him on Instagram @Daniel.Edward.Williams
All walking tours are free, with tips gratefully accepted, but not expected.