On entry, we were greeted by a well-lit space with chessboard tiles on the floor and a pool table up front. The building is a utilitarian, standalone, white, windowless rectangle –– more art installation or forgotten bunker than a place of revelry. Our first stop was 515 Bar (515 S Jennings Av, 81), one of the last holdovers from the scene that was. Only a few years ago, the Gayborhood – a smattering of places on or around Jennings Avenue on the Near Southside – looked ready to blossom but seemed to die out atop the smoldering ashes of the Rainbow Lounge after that beloved institution burned down back in 2017. One recent hot and sweaty Saturday night after a long day of imbibing beer and devouring tacos at a house party, three hardened divers and I set out to find signs of a gay-bar scene in town.
