Two Minutes WithÃ¢â‚¬Â¦

Tami Sortman, president of the Philadelphia Gay Tourism Caucus


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Published: Sep 27, 2007

GIRL POWER: (l-R) Emerge's brain trust Tami Sortman, Kaitlin Cattie and Tracy Buchholz.

Sortman, left, with Kaitlin Cattie and Tracy Buchholz on the verge of last year's Blue Ball.

: mike m. koehler

City Paper: What is the mission of the Philadelphia Gay Tourism Caucus?
Tami Sortman: The caucus is here to promote the area as a gay-friendly destination, “once you’ve gotten your history straight.” So during the day you’re getting your history straight, and at night is when you get your nightlife gay. We’re there to help promote the geographic area. We’re not in charge of who moves in. We’re here to make sure that when a gay traveler comes in town they know and understand the area, and have a great time when they’re in Philadelphia.

CP: Why did the Caucus initiate the rainbow signage in the Gayborhood?
TS: There are no markers that distinguish it. Boystown in Chicago has markers and in San Francisco, the Castro has flags. If you’re welcoming people here you should indicate it better for people when they are here.

CP: What do you think about the name Midtown Village?
TS: I think it’s a great thing moving forward. The whole area has been regentrified the past couple of years; without designating it as a location, it falls short. Just like Rittenhouse Row has its own association, these merchants groups decided that they need to designate their area as well, basically, to get together and advertise as a unit as cost-effectively as possible to show off who they are and where they’re located.

CP: The names Midtown Village and Gayborhood identify the same physical space. Are they compatible?
TS: It’s a group of merchants, which everyone needs to remember. Midtown Village is for merchants only. It’s not to designate the living space. It’s just to designate that a group of merchants have banded together to call themselves this.

CP: Has the neighborhood been changing?
TS: The neighborhood is changing constantly. Residents have moved into the area, both a mixture of gay and straight, because of all the condominiums that have gone up in Center City. Sure, has the landscape changed and types of demographics moving? Absolutely. Is it better for the neighborhood? Absolutely it is. The more people, the better off we are.

CP: What was the neighborhood like in 2000?
TS: It was much more sparse because the population wasn’t as large. We didn’t have these condos before. They were basically apartment buildings that housed students. Now these buildings have turned into condominiums which are now housing empty nesters. The landscape has changed drastically. Abandoned buildings are now being regentrified and turned into restaurants and entertainment facilities for the gay and straight community to come together.

CP: But the resident demographics have changed.
TS: It’s not all about who lives in the neighborhood anymore, but what’s in that neighborhood. For instance, all of the gay clubs are in that area; they’re all clustered in the area that’s been designated. Same with restaurants. Most of the gay-owned and gay-friendly restaurants are clustered in that area as well.

CP: Just to play devil’s advocate, what will happen 20 years from now if the neighborhood changes from being gay populated?
TS: As most people know, gay communities thrive in areas that need to be regentrified. They go into an area that’s been depressed and they make it better. Sometimes they move on and sometimes they stay. It’s ever changing and we can’t predict the future. But for now, I can say that this is definitely a gay established area because of the nightlife and the daytime life that you can have when you’re in the area.