West Hollywood has been a haven for the LGBT community since its incorporation in 1984. Though it has always been identified as a pro-LGBT city and area of Los Angeles County (what I like to call the Castro of LA), it has never enjoyed an official designation. On August 18th, the West Hollywood News (aka: WeHo News) reported that the West Hollywood City Council voted to direct staff to begin looking for ways the city can begin to officially identify Santa Monica Blvd. between Doheney Dr. and La Cienega Blvd. as “Historic Boystown”.
The desire to name the strip as “Historic Boystown” has not been without controversy. First, the Lakeview neighborhood in the City of Chicago has long been known as “Boystown” before West Hollywood was even a city. The decision to identify a part of West Hollywood has spurred a debate between cities over who is the “real” boystown. But now the West Hollywood Mayor, John Duran, has added himself with a gaff to the WeHo News.
