DC’s Gayborhoods Are Disappearg. How Should We Feel About That? - Washgtonian

Contents:

• THE GAY WAY: HISTORY OF LBIAN BARS SOUTHEAST WASHGTON, D.C.
• D.C. NO LONGER HAS A CENTRAL GAY NEIGHBORHOOD. DO THAT MATTER?
• D.C.'S BT GAY BARS AND HANGOUTS
• LICHT CAFé, D.C.’S NEWT GAY BAR, IS A COZY, ART-FILLED U STREET HIAWAY
• WASHGTON DC GAY BARS
• DC’S GAYBORHOODS ARE DISAPPEARG. HOW SHOULD WE FEEL ABOUT THAT?
• D.C. GAY NIGHTCLUB COBALT CLOS WH LTLE WARNG

THE GAY WAY: HISTORY OF LBIAN BARS SOUTHEAST WASHGTON, D.C.

RIP Gay BarsCi around the untry and globe have seen many of their most beloved gay and lbian waterg hol close down — often after the area's queer populatn dispers or the owner simply gets priced out. [RELATED: 26 Dead (Or Dyg) Gay Bars NYC, L. Capal Pri, one of the largt gay pri celebratns the US, is this weekend.

D.C. NO LONGER HAS A CENTRAL GAY NEIGHBORHOOD. DO THAT MATTER?

The above map and s acpanyg history tell the story of the bars, bookstor, group hom, clics, and church that have played sential rol DC's gay muny for the past half century.

D.C.'S BT GAY BARS AND HANGOUTS

Durg the 60s and 70s, as LGBT activism moved more to the public foreont, the number of gay bars grew throughout the District; also emergg this time were Guild Prs, which published gay travel guis, fictn, and a newspaper lled Gay Fom, as well as the Washgton Free Clic, which provid STD unselg to gay men. The growth of gay spac slowed down the 1980s, she says, but at the same time the clud DC's first gural High Heel Drag Queen Race, which has now bee an stutn. The slowed growth ntued the 90s and 2000s, but 's very possible that's bee time has passed, there's been ls of a need for gay people to hi pla sight.

LICHT CAFé, D.C.’S NEWT GAY BAR, IS A COZY, ART-FILLED U STREET HIAWAY

“Wh greater acceptance has me blurrier l to what nstut gay bars and spac, ” wr Kate. “Nowadays bars like Nellie's, one of the few notable gay bars to open sce 2000, are attend by straight people, and many bars whout the tentn of beg a gay bar wele and celebrate their LGBT muny.

The data Kate ed to create the map is available through the Rabow History Project, an anizatn dited to llectg, prervg, and promotg gay, lbian, bisexual, and transgenr history DC. The natn's pal is home to a lively LGBTQ+ nightlife scene wh plenty of gay and lbian bars jt wag for you to jo on the fun.

WASHGTON DC GAY BARS

Larry’s Lounge is a gay neighborhood pub, wh always-affordable drks, solid happy hour specials, mouth-waterg pub fare (see: sweet potato tots) and one of the cy’s iendlit pats (you n brg your dog, too!).

Number Ne to the btlg Logan Circle urty of -founr Ed Bailey, who helped DC’s gay nightlife scene to grow durg his days as a DJ.

Suated right the heart of Adams Man’s btlg 18th Street is Pchers, a gay sports bar, and A League of Her Own, the adjacent bar for lbian and queer women. Neighborhood was once known as “The Gay Way, ” due to the number of LGBT tablishments on the street durg the 1960s, ‘70s, and ‘80s. I cid I wanted to tell the story of Phase One [for my this], but I also wanted to tell the history of how other spac existed around Phase One, and why Phase One had managed to last for 45 me a b more about the history of “The Gay Way.

DC’S GAYBORHOODS ARE DISAPPEARG. HOW SHOULD WE FEEL ABOUT THAT?

At that time, the 1960s, and ‘70s, was illegal to be gay.

D.C. GAY NIGHTCLUB COBALT CLOS WH LTLE WARNG

[Some LGBT bars closed down] the 1980s, which is very clearly due to the AIDs crisis—the muny was takg re of the dyg gay men. Has been historilly gay, and the LGBT muny has been systemilly removed through gentrifitn and urban renewal. Unr the Lavenr Sre the feral ernment fired gay dividuals en masse.