Augie and C.K.’s became established in 1979 as the merger between two previously separate lesbian bars that Olga “Augie” Flanigan and Carol Kappa owned. “I just decided to open the bar because there were no girls’ bars,” Flanigan said to Windy City Times. “I had just come back from a trip to Puerto Rico and they had a beautiful girls’ bar and that inspired me.” Throughout the 1980s it became a crucial gathering place for the lesbian community and featured music from such popular house DJs as Lora Branch and Phyl Thomas. Myriad activities within and surrounding Augie & C.K.’s helped shape the character of Lakeview: The bar participated in the Pride Parade, held picnics and sponsored softball and bowling teams. After Kappa’s death in 1984, Flanigan continued running Augie and C.K.’s for another 10 years.

– A.C. 

Caption: Former location of Augie and C.K.'s