It is also noted that Jo-Anna's was one of the first of Washington's clubs to willingly identify with "gayness" and distribute the Mattachine Society newsletter. They put in a small dance floor, which immediately started to attract business including, (I think) some men. It was responsible for the initiation of dancing in DC gay bars on a regular basis. Dr Franklin Kameny remembers, "JoAnna's arrived somewhat later, on the NE corner of 8th and E, directly across from Johnnie's. SE in 1968 represented a new social option for women, and a daring new dance floor.
NW, the Spring Road Café, a purple building that was hard to miss, saw women’s gatherings on weekends.
At 5828 Georgia, in upper Northwest, Zombies’ restaurant generally welcomed women. Until mid-decade there was no equivalent of the old Showboat club. Mark Meinke in "The Social Geography of Washington, D.C.'s Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgendered Community" (2002) says the following about "Women's social spaces" in Washington:įor most of the Sixties there were few public social options for women. These are the spaces guaranteed not only to make everyone feel safe, but also to have a damn good time.Location: 430 8th Street, Washington, D.C., USA Here are the best bars and parties for a night of queer debauchery-from shirtless specials to ’90s dance parties and everything in between. In general, I expect our hopes for our community are the same as many others' hopes-that we are just trying to be a truly better community all the time."ĭespite the rainbow extending to more spaces throughout the District, gay bars will always be the most well-lit beacons for the DC queer community to let their hair down, perhaps for the first time ever. So, our community is not only diverse, but it is also very smart and that makes for a lively, vibrant nightlife. Also, DC is a place where people with ambitious career goals come to pursue things seriously. “Because our city is such a magnet for people from all over the world, that keeps our community incredibly diverse. We have all sorts of people and all sorts of personalities,” says DJ and nightlife entrepreneur, Ed Bailey. "DC’s LGBTQ+ community is truly remarkable. The question of whether every place can now be considered safe in DC for queer people remains, but an ongoing shift is unmistakable as the LGBTQ+ community has begun to stake out their own space within more traditional watering holes, with outdoor beer garden Dacha, the trendy Takoda, and the bumping nightclub Flash as prime examples. Is it such a bad thing though? With each closure comes the inevitable, “where to now?” And the new answer seems to be: everywhere. Dupont Circle, once defined as the city’s gayborhood, is seemingly hanging on by a thread. Over the past few decades, countless openings, promising re-openings, and disappointing closings have taught us to expect the unexpected. The DC LGBTQ+ community is no stranger to change.