Go to cities like New Orleans, Memphis and even Pittsburgh, and the streets of the older neighborhoods are filled with paddle-sized bronze signs declaring that a former Vice President, famous singer, Indian scout or explorer lived here. While places like Bronzeville and the Blues District have helped a little, Chicago is still lagging when it comes to promoting landmarks as tourist attractions. One such location is 1710 Crilly Court. Built in 1885, the grey stone house was home to the man who many call the “father of the gay movement.” Not just the Chicago-area gay movement either. As president of the Society for Human Rights, Gerber’s organization was the first openly gay organization which had a public charter, semi-public meetings, and whose newsletter, Friendship and Freedom, was the first documented gay civil rights publication in the United States. A veteran of the United States Army that occupied Germany after World War I, Gerber learned about gay activism in what was then an emerging gay civil rights movement in postwar Germany (think “Cabaret”). Gerber lived at the Crilly Court home from 1924-1925. He and his organization functioned without incident until he decided to move to an apartment on Oak Street. This new dwelling was raided, Gerber was arrested and the documents and literature that he had created were destroyed. Today, the Gerber/Hart Library, which specializes in gay, lesbian and transgender literature, is named in his honor. Gerber’s former home, which features arched leaded windows, a long, wide staircase and petite garden is part of the Old Town Triangle Chicago Landmark District, and was designated a Chicago Landmark in 2001. Yet it still goes unrecognized by most Chicagoans and visitors alike, rather than a regular stop for educators who are teaching diversity and a mecca of inspiration for those who are part of the gay, lesbian and transgender communities. 1710 Crilly Court
