River North could be getting a little more kinky, as a BDSM club is hoping to move into a space at 356 W Superior St.
A post circulated on Reddit Tuesday of a special use permit application filed by Galleria Domain 2 that seeks to "establish a private social club for adults who share an interest in bondage, discipline, domination and submission, and BDSM." The company already owns a club near North and Western avenues, but its website doesn't specify the exact address.
The club has received a good deal of backlash since word of its permit application has made rounds. DNAifno and Fox Chicago have both reported that prude local residents plan to keep city-sanctioned leather whippings and ball gags out of their neighborhood. Advocates of the club have been silent, presumably because people don't really like to talk to the media about their fetishes.
Not long ago, River North was a much freakier place than it is today. In 2000, the intersection of Hubbard and LaSalle streets was a hub for prostitution, and was widely known as Chicago's red-light district during the late part of the 20th century. Let's not forget Te'Jay's Adult Books at 53 W Hubbard, which is a seedy and disgusting place that doesn't bring up any fuss.
In any case, River North isn't the neighborhood that it was 20 years ago, but it doesn't seem fair for residents to discriminate against people who just want to be consensually tied up, gagged and whipped for a couple of hours.