Secrets gay bar washington dc

Gay bars. Ask any member of the LGBTQIA community to tell you a story about one and they’ll regale you with memories. Good ones, horrible ones, wild ones, emotional ones—because for decades, these spaces have been homes to a group. They ushered us into adulthood; they provided sanctuary to be ourselves. We mourn them enjoy family members after they’re gone. 

But “everything closes,” as formerly local author June Thomas summed up at her manual talk earlier this month. So if everything is ephemeral, what makes queer bars so special? 

The stories of these spaces are interwoven with our individual and collective histories. And in D.C. that history runs deep. According to the Rainbow History Project’s archives, more than gays bars have set up shop in the District since the s—decades before June 28, , when the Stonewall Riots marked an vital turning point in the gay rights movement. 

“The reason Celebration exists,” says Ed Bailey, a well-known local DJ and gay nightlife entrepreneur, is “because there was a block where a thing happened. It’s not like it’s surprising it happ