Being Counted

A friend posted a link on Facebook to the very handy New York Times "Mapping America" tool and made the observation that Boston-Edison is the gayest neighborhood in Detroit (at 7%), followed by Indian Village (5%)  and Woodbridge (5%).  Not necessarily a shock, but interesting nevertheless.  If only because it prompts a little digging on the map to see where else rates.

It was no surprise to see that East English Village has a higher-than-zero number of "same-sex households" (3%) but seriously, who expected the area around the Detroit Medical Center (3%) to show up higher than Lafayette Park? I mean really, there are like six places to live there!  And the neighborhoods just next to City Airport (4%!)? Random!  Or Highland Park (3%).  For real?

The map is full of surprises like that in the city, little pockets where same-sex couples are just going about their business and not making a big stink about gayborhoods (but probably leading their block clubs).

Just as notable are the areas that don't appear to have a significant gay population, like the Palmer Woods/Sherwood Forest/Green Acres area (0%?  Really?).  Or in Oakland County - Ferndale is only 1-2%!  The winner in the OC is Royal Oak at a whopping 4%.

Remember, of course, that this only tracks households identifying as same-sex, which means couples.  So if there weren't enough reasons for society to make you feel shitty about being single, there's one more.  And the data is based on sampling - the real updated story from the 2010 census will be revealed in February 2011.  I am trying my darnedest to figure out how to find the sampled population of each census tract so I can do a little math with these percentages, but for the son of two Ph.D.'s in statistics I'm not managing to find the right data very well.

And to wrap things up - if you are looking for the ultimate in gay living in Michigan, apparently you need to move to Ecorse, which rates 14%!  If downriver is not your speed, there's always Pinckney (7%).  Really.

Village People

You have to wonder how many times a reference has been made to one of Detroit's Village neighborhoods with "Village People" as the title.  I would imagine a lot of them.  I usually try to avoid cliches, but since this is a gay blog I am going to use it in the most contextually accurate way it has probably ever been used, so I say it makes this title fresh and fun!

I have intermittently visited the idea of a gayborhood in Detroit on this blog.  There has been some discussion of gayborhoods past (such as here, here and here), and some discussion of the need or desire for gayborhoods future (such as here, here and here).  And maybe a little bit of kvetching about gayborhoods present (I'll spare you the embarrassing negativity).

The conversation about whether we even need a gay neighborhood in Detroit might be worth revisiting, since the landscape has changed so much even in the past two years. Gay visibility is about the same as it's ever been, which is to say "low," but websites like Facebook have made connecting with fellow city gays easier than ever before.  The emergence of our fledgling but exciting alternative gay scene has provided a few social spaces that feel current and allow mingling that feels less like a trip to The Bar and more just like a trip to the bar.  And if I've learned one thing it's that my "community" in this city has a lot less to do with sexual orientation than with shared passions.

But I continue to feel pretty strongly that better gay visibility in this city will make things better for everyone.  Gay people are still making their mark on the cultural landscape of this town disproportionately to their presence here (and I feel kind of embarrassed for us that I hesitate to name names for fear of outing someone), and yet we get short shrift at every political turn.  The pulpit in this churchy city hasn't let up, despite Charles Pugh's rather significant election.  And even though shopping malls and tanning salons have apparently replaced fixer-uppers and opera as the mainstream gay hobbies of choice, I think there are still enough gays and lesbians with traditional gay values that both they and Detroit can benefit from a little momentum in the gay neighborhood department.

We have new leadership in this city, and there are some pretty radical ideas about reshaping density that are both daunting and exciting to imagine.  It seems to me this is the perfect time for the gays and lesbians in the area to start thinking about shifting our own population density.

And this brings me to the point of this post (finally!), which is that this Sunday the West Village - the neighborhood I think could benefit the most from an influx of gay residents - is having a big open house tour and street festival!  It's a super opportunity to get into the neighborhood, see the great variety of housing, meet some of the residents and discover an area that - for reasons that are beyond my comprehension - is still kind of a secret.

Heaps of charm!

I have dozens of reasons why I think this neighborhood has the most potential, and they range from the kinds of housing available to the fact that there aren't any puppetmasters trying to turn it into an "urban neighborhood."  I'm sure I'll discuss them down the road.  But suffice to say it's there and really cool and ready to become even cooler.  And it's already been a homestead for many a gay, so you owe it to yourself to at least get it on your radar!

Come and knock on their door!

So take a little time on Sunday afternoon and stroll around the West Village!  There are details here.  Or just drive over to Indian Village and then walk two blocks west.  Maybe you will see the possibilities I see!

The Detroit Homo Tour: Follow-up

A few people asked me to report back on the "LGBT & Friends Home Tour" of the neighborhoods in the 7 Mile-Livernois area, and I didn't forget. But I decided to spread the word a little further (and earn a little cash) by reporting back on it in Model D.

For a full report that is only slightly edited from what I'd post in my own blog, read here.

And as for what I left out of the Model D piece, take a gander at this:

You've got to climb Mount Everest to reach the Valley of the Dolls ... or so I thought.

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Detroit Homo Tour

Last year I mused that the Kilpatrick administration really needed to make an overt gesture to the gay community, to make it clear that gay people are welcome and wanted in the city. I wasn't just asking for a feel-good affirmation of my presence here - I thrive on being places I'm not welcome, just ask the hosts of the last three parties I attended. But I'd spoken with many gays from the suburbs over the years who specifically felt a gay presence was not wanted in the city. And Kwame did make several gaffes early on which definitely sent that message (they all seem so quaint now, in comparison to his later gaffes).

It turns out I wasn't the only one who felt this way. There was never any big announcement, but over the past year our man on the inside of the administration, Brad Dick, not only was officially appointed liaison to the LGBT community, but he and other Detroit gays got together to create something that is, to my knowledge, an historic first for the City of Detroit: a City-sanctioned event to promote the growth of the gay community in Detroit.

The LGBT and Friends Home Tour takes place this Sunday, September 28, in the neighborhoods of Green Acres, Sherwood Forest, Palmer Woods, Bagley and the University District. It is an out-and-out (and out) effort to showcase this great cluster of beautiful Detroit neighborhoods to a crowd that may not consider venturing south of 8 Mile Road when looking for a new home.



With the suburban gay community maxing out on Ferndale and turning their sights east toward Hazel Park (HAZEL PARK!), now is the perfect time to show off the absolutely gorgeous homes and fabulous neighbors that lie literally just across the street to the south.

LGBT & Friends Home Tour and Afterglow - Sunday, September 28

• Detroit Golf Club 17911 Hamilton Rd. Detroit, MI 48203
  Home tour runs from 2:00 p.m. until 6:00 p.m.
  (Pick-up and drop-off for the tour at the Detroit Golf Club)


• Afterglow runs from 5:30 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. at the Detroit Golf Club
  Tickets are $20.00 (includes tour and afterglow)
  (All proceeds to benefit the Michigan Equality Education Fund (MEEF)


• Purchase tickets online – www.lgbtevent.eventbrite.com and the day of the event at the Detroit Golf Club


• Representatives from the City of Detroit Assessor’s Office, C.R.E.S.T. (Coalition of Realtors Empowering, Stabilizing, & Transforming Communities), Lenders, Preservation Wayne, and more will be available to answer questions

The LGBT and Friends Home Tour is a NEXT Detroit neighborhood initiative done in conjunction with with the mayor's office and the University Commons organization. It starts at the historic Detroit Golf Club and busses will take attendees to one house in each neighbhorhood. Of note, the Frank Lloyd Wright Turkel House will be on this tour - that's worth the price of admission alone! And the afterglow at the Golf Club is sure to be a who's-who of Detroit's moving-and-shaking gays.



Personally, I was absolutely thrilled to hear about this event. It may not seem like much, but in addition to showing off a fantastic area near and dear to my heart (I went to high school in the Bagley neighbhorhood), it's a sign that at least some people in our city's administration are thinking of us. I guess belated kudos to KK for sanctioning the development of this and other plans to attract the gay community (even though it was totally kept on the down-low), and also thanks to the brand-spankin'-new Cockrel administration for not bagging the whole thing. We all know gay is a touchy subject in Detroit.

More importantly, it's time that the gay community in Detroit goes on the offensive to attract gays who are looking for a more urban lifestyle but are simply unaware of what Detroit has to offer. I am tired of talking to queens at Pronto who ask if I live in one of those "new lofts" or in one of those neighborhoods they rehabbed. I need queens in the city so I can socialize and not have to give a City Living 101 lecture.

Besides, Hazel Park is simply unacceptable. What's next, Warren? Sheesh.

This is seriously the cutest house I could find in a
google image search for Hazel Park.

A photo I saved - apparently for just this moment - from a Free Press article
about Hazel Park from about four years ago.

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The old 'hood

I've mentioned here and there how the Palmer Park neighborhood used to be the old gay 'hood back in the 70's and 80's (and better yet, readers have chimed in with additional info). Recently I came across this flickr photoset with pictures of the buildings in that area.

There are some really sensational buildings in that McNichols/Woodward area. If you can't make the drive through yourself - and with summer in full bloom there's no better time - then this will be a nice substitute.

View the photoset here

It Takes a Village, People.

With the dawn of a new year comes a renewed sense of purpose. Or at least that's what my therapist says. So I'm taking the Supergay Detroit blog and expanding its scope.

The holiday San Francisco trip was important in many ways. First off, caught up on shopping. Secondly, reaffirmed gay solidarity. And thirdly, realized how much living in Detroit is working for me.

It also gave me a chance to discuss my personal gay agenda and my objectives for this blog with friends who agree with me on key points about our gay identities, and to look at ideas to effect greater change.

One friend, over dinner at the hipsteriest East German restaurant ever, asked me, "How many gay people do you need to move downtown to create a difference?" Isn't that a good question? Thirty, I replied. Thirty this year. And then he said, "You need to create the Supergay Detroit Cultural Enhancement Program."

It was genius. I wish I could take credit for the idea, but in reality I am outspoken but stupid.

So this year, in addition to social commentary, bar reviews, and timewasting youtubing, I am working to create gay change in the city of Detroit. This year, we are going to get thirty new gay people into three key neighborhoods with great gay potential.

Here are the guidelines:

* The goal is new gay residents - we're not poaching from other Detroit neighborhoods. Let's get people who "get it" to move in from the suburbs, and let's snag people moving in from other cities before they are unceremoniously directed toward Royal Oak by their relocation expert.

* We need gay folks who will be publicly engaged with the community - the goal here is visibility, gang, so gays who want to stay home all the time might as well nest in Brighton. We need gays and lesbians who will be out and about. Singles are great, since they are forced out of the house by their desperate loneliness, but couples who want to do more than watch "Lost" snuggled up on the sofa each week are also needed. This is more than hanging out at the bar, it's being gay at the Y, at restaurants, with community groups ... it's being a part of life in the city.

* Newly-hatched gay people who already live in the city count too! Everyone knows Michigan isn't the most evolved place in terms of accepting gays and lesbians, so it tends to take some people longer than others to pull it together and come out of the closet. Instead of shunning these folks, we need to reward their honesty (while secretly recounting their closeted foibles) and make them a part of gay Detroit. And encourage their move to a designated potential gayborhood!

Naturally, Supergay Detroit has taken the time to identify three neighborhoods with amazing gay potential. If you've been a longtime reader then you know my take on gayborhoods. The areas I've selected have hit the mark on several key points, including a moderate gay presence currently, a variety of housing options, geographic desirability and potential for improvement on an individual resident level.

I have selected Midtown (for those skewing young), Lafayette Park (for the more sophisticated and mature gay) and West Village (frankly, for everyone) as Detroit's future gay neighborhoods. I'll take an in-depth look at these neighborhoods over the next few posts.

So these guidelines aren't that hard, are they? It's just about openly gay people moving into neighborhoods with amazing gay potential.

Your goal, gentle reader, is to encourage gay migration to these areas. And it won't be hard. People are tired of the generic homogeneity of Royal Oak. And they are getting frustrated by the lack of options in Ferndale. Detroit is the new gay frontier, (even though it's alway had a huge gay undercurrent), and I am all about pointing out options.

This is the foundation of the 2008 Supergay Detroit Cultural Enhancement Program. I strongly believe change starts from the ground up, so everyone stop waiting for leadership to text you an invitation and accept this one instead. Creating change is our gay birthright, so let's get to it!

On Gayborhoods

While I'm on the topic of gayborhoods ...

Once upon a time, Detroit did have a bona fide gay neighborhood in the Palmer Park area at McNichols/Six Mile and Woodward. As I've heard it told, this was in the 70's and into the 80's, and encompassed the neighborhoods east of Woodward full of single family homes as well as the numerous beautiful deco apartment buildings across from the park. Gay businesses were plentiful in this area, and it was completely normal for people to walk to bars and restaurants.

Still pretty: entrance to a deco apartment building in Palmer Park.

I have a few memories of this area from the early/mid-80's when I would ride the school bus through there. I remember passing The Gold Coast (in it's old location on the south side of the street ... 'where gentlemen meet') and Chosen Books, which was originally on McNichols, I think. Later when I had a car I would drive past Backstage, the gay restaurant, with its neighboring piano bar Footlights, hoping desperately to see some actual living gay people.

Palmer Park was a lot like the emerging gay neighborhoods in other major cities at the time ... Dupont Circle in Washington, DC, Lakeview in Chicago, the South End in Boston. Great housing stock in a mature neighborhood, varied housing styles, bars and restaurants and retail, walkability, density, a university in close proximity, a liberal and tolerant local population. So if these other areas went on to become major gay centers in the US, why did Palmer Park fall apart? Crime mostly. The story of Palmer Park mirrors the story of many of Detroit's other neighborhoods. By the 80's there was rising street crime, and the gay population moved a few miles north to Royal Oak and Ferndale. The Metro Times took a good look at this story back in June, and if you haven't read that article it's worth a look.

At the end of the 80's Detroit was in the same place as these other major cities. While those cities' governments managed to keep their gay areas liveable, and their citizens did not get so fed up that they felt forced to leave, and their police forces actually fought crime, Detroit did not. Well, what can you do?

"Hey, we tried!": A rally against nighttime street violence in Palmer Park c. 1980

25 years later one might ask if we even really need a gay neighborhood in the city. Doesn't Ferndale/Huntington Woods/Royal Oak suit our needs? Aren't there gay people in every Detroit neighborhood? Haven't we come far enough in terms of mainstream acceptance that creating a gay ghetto works against our better interests?

These are valid points, but I really do think Detroit needs a gayborhood. First off, the Ferndale phenomenon has not been enough to stop gay people from fleeing the area in droves. The 'Dale is probably a decent reflection of a gay community that is widely dispersed throughout the suburbs, but it is cohesion and density that so many gay people move away to find. I personally find Ferndale charming, and lived there briefly myself long, long ago. But I don't think it offers enough to be the hub of a gay community.

Secondly, there certainly are a large number of gay people in Detroit's neighborhoods. And many people will say that's a testament to the acceptance of gay people in this city, the fact that we live everywhere, and that we can go pretty much anywhere and be ourselves. And this is a true, great fact about Detroit. But the gay community is not integrated in Detroit, it is invisible. There is a huge difference. Sure, you can be gay and go to anywhere you like, and you might even see other gay people there. But where can you reliably go to meet new people, for friends or dating? What do you do when you are new?

It is my opinion that Detroit needs to get to a point where there is a visible gay center BEFORE it can get to this whole "integration" theory. I just think there are certain things that contribute to gay quality of life in a city, regardless of whether you spend a great deal of time mingling with the gay community:

* having places to socialize like bars, restaurants, coffeeshops, etc. And not like the shitholes we have in Detroit. The calibre of the gay businesses in a city says a lot about how the gay community views itself, and that would indicate Detroit's gay community is still stuck in the self-loathing 80's.

* and as an addendum to that, having activity in more than one place on a given night. When was the last time anyone found two hoppin' places on the same night in this city? Shit, you can barely find one. The close proximity of businesses with gay appeal helps promote business for everybody.

* having opportunities for networking with other gay people to promote and foster business growth

* being able to find a gay doctor (go ahead, give it a try, it's remarkably difficult) or other professionals that cater to the unique needs of gay people

* having a hub for community services for gays, lesbians and transgendered, including HIV prevention/education/testing, resources for young people, etc. Not just a hotline or a drop-in center, but a place where information is shared among people on the street or in coffeehouses.

* having openly gay people who are public figures - this includes politicians, business owners, neighborhood activists, philanthropists, educators ... all role models for young people and a sign that you can thrive in a particular city

* creating visibility for the gay and lesbian population. The GLBT community has essentially no voice in city politics, and socially is not an influence. Contrast with Chicago, where the city now recognizes how (in the words of Mayor Daley at the Gay Games Opening Ceremonies), "the gay community has been at the forefront of every quality of life issue in the city." Hell, the city even provided major funding for the new GLBT community center in Lakeview (which was an incredible historic preservation project). Detroit's community needs a voice, and that only comes from banding together

Detroit needs a neighborhood with a variety of housing options (for the young renter as well as the homo-owner), relatively intact housing stock, a commercial district with potential, one or two NICER gay bars or restaurants, a few visionary people leading the way, and an official "welcome" from the mayor's office (believe it or not, I know several suburban gay people who feel that they are explicitly UNwelcome in the city of Detroit). A gayborhood will only burnish the city's image in the eyes of urbanites around the country, and maybe we can keep some of our gay people from fleeing to greener pastures.

So where could it go? I have my ideas, but what do you think? Weigh in with a comment if you want.

Supergay Blight Tour: Gay Bars of Detroit (Part 2)

[This continues my Detroit gay bar blight tour from May of 2006, encompassing two neighborhoods that were previously gay strongholds in the city]

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Part Two: Palmer Park and Warrendale

Palmer Park (the Woodward/McNichols/7 Mile area), formerly the heart of Detroit's gayborhood, still has a reasonable number of gay bars.

Menjo's
The venerable cha cha palace still gets quite a crowd on Thursdays, or so I'm told. Don't leave anything in your car, though. Twink central.

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Club Gold Coast

The new location, not the old one I used to ride past on the school bus back in the 80's that bore the sign "Where Gentlemen Meet." The new place prominently features strippers. Classy.

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The Male Box

All I know is they have lots of Lube Wrestling and Wet Jockey Short contests here, so you know it's got to be good.

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The Warrendale neighborhood used to be home to a lot of Detroit gay residents, and the number of bars still in the area is a testament to that. A slightly nicer location than most of the other bars in the city, but everyone knows that since the cops got to move out of the city limits this area is going to hell too. Lots of nostalgia for the gay shame of the 80's during the drive through Warrendale, though, back when every gay bar was like a secret club and you had to actually go out in public to meet people.


Gigi's
Entrance in rear, like half the gay bars in the city (and more than half the gay guys, har har). Been around forever, best booger drag in town. Careful on your way out so you don't get shot like that guy from Windsor.

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Hayloft
Only been there once, pretty fun but I was the thinnest and the prettiest in the bar. No western theme despite the enticing name and hay-colored brick exterior. Surprisingly busy for a Sunday afternoon! Sorry if that's your dad's car in the photo.

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Backstreet
Ahh, the grande dame of gay bars in Detroit - how many faglets had their first gay bar experience here? In its third incarnation, it's still located in the same space in the same strip mall. No signage this time, like back in the old days.

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Diamond Jim's Saloon
If you're like me, nothing is more amusing than watching two men two-stepping. Detroit's only country & western gay bar was brokeback before you even knew about it.

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Adam's Apple
Routinely touted as a "great neighborhood bar." Since I was getting desperate without a drink and it was the last bar on my tour, I stopped in and found it was, indeed, a friendly place. Not so much for the neighborhood anymore, since the people I talked to were all from outside the area (eastside, Plymouth, Novi, etc). But it's a bit of a flashback to the old Warrendale days nevertheless. Oh, and the entrance is in the rear.

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Apologies for the following omissions:

Stinger's - supposedly somewhere near The Male Box, I couldn't find it to save my life

R&R Saloon - I really needed a drink at the Adam's Apple so I gave up on heading out to this isolated place (Michigan & Livernois area). It smells like a dirty dick inside so you can imagine the hovel it is on the outside.

La Dolce Vita - I am not sure this is really gay anymore, although it does get a gay clientele. Plus it's actually more a restaurant with a bar.