Chicago’s oldest gay newspaper is celebrating its 25th anniversary.
Windy City Times will mark the occasion with an anniversary issue Wednesday.
The issue will feature front pages from the weekly paper’s first year and columns from writers who worked in the gay media in the 1980s.
Windy City Times was founded in September 1985 at the height of the AIDS crisis.
Two of the four original founders have passed away.
Co-founder and current publisher Tracy Baim says 25 years is an important milestone because the modern gay rights movement had just begun its strongest push in the 1960s and 1970s.
She says now that gay issues are covered better in the mainstream media, niche publications are crucial for covering the community in more meaningful ways.
Here’s a look back at the beginnings of the Windy City Times.
