![]() ![]() Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago Lost History Sarah Hiatt, department chair of media at Chicago Academy for the Arts, and Matt Kasin, garden and lounge manager, pose for a photo at the Music Box Lounge and Garden in Lakeview on June 7, 2023. ![]() I think it’s mostly about connection,” Kasin said. Because that’s what me and Sarah were saying - it’s like your living room … Any person can walk through and enjoy the lounge. “We got goosebumps when we read that Rhonda wanted it to feel like living room. “It’s comforting” to know that 45 years ago, queer community was being fostered in the same space where he now works, Kasin said. Hiatt has since moved on to a new role as chair of the Media Arts department at the Chicago Academy for the Arts, but comes by often to support Kasin. Much of the story is still yet to be told, including what became of Renee herself, Kasin said. RELATED: Chicago’s Lesbian Bars Vanished For Years, But Sapphic Spaces Are Making A Comeback Southport Ave., is a first-date spot and a hangout for cinephiles whose social lives revolve around the theater.īut in recent years, manager Matt Kasin and bartender Sarah Hiatt have helped attract more queer staff and patrons to the space, not realizing they also were bringing Music Box Lounge back in touch with its roots as a lesbian bar with the same name.Īs sapphic-oriented spaces come back after years of decline, manager Kasin now has made it a mission to unearth and honor Music Box’s history as a thriving spot with women singers, drag shows, its own softball team and a charismatic wrestler-turned-owner and bartender named Rhonda Renee. Most nights, the space attached to the Music Box Theatre, 3733 N. LAKEVIEW - The Music Box Lounge and Garden is not officially a queer bar. ![]() Pilsen, Little Village, Back of the Yards.Lincoln Square, North Center, Irving Park.Jefferson Park, Portage Park, Norwood Park.Uptown, Edgewater, Rogers Park Open dropdown menu.South Chicago, East Side Open dropdown menu.Pilsen, Little Village, Back of the Yards Open dropdown menu.Lincoln Square, North Center, Irving Park Open dropdown menu.Lakeview, Wrigleyville, Northalsted Open dropdown menu.Jefferson Park, Portage Park, Norwood Park Open dropdown menu.Englewood, Chatham, Auburn Gresham Open dropdown menu.River North, Gold Coast, Near North Side.Bridgeport, Chinatown, McKinley Park Open dropdown menu.Searching For Rhonda Renee: A Bar Manager’s Quest To Uncover The Lost History Of Lakeview’s Music Box Lounge Close ![]()
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