Remembering Chelsea's Gay Heyday

Over at Kenneth In The 212, my pal Kenneth Walsh has published a rather comprehensive photo essay recounting the dozens of businesses that have departed the Eighth Avenue corridor of Chelsea that was arguably once the nation's most popular stretch of gay nightlife, retail, and restaurants. Chelsea's demise as the center of Manhattan gay life began early this century and accelerated rapidly over the last ten years as rising rents and gentrification sent the gays packing for Hell's Kitchen.