Established 1970 Dress code casual Country United States | Closed 2016 City Washington, D.C. | |
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Street address 525 8th St SE (8th and E) | ||
Phase 1, also known as The Phase, was a lesbian bar and nightclub at 525 8th Street, Southeast in Washington, D.C. Located one block south of Pennsylvania Avenue, SE near Eastern Market in the Capitol Hill neighborhood, Phase 1 was the oldest continually operating lesbian bar in the United States and the oldest operating LGBT bar in Washington, D.C. until its closure in February, 2016.
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History
In 1971, Allen Carroll and Chris Jansen founded Phase 1 and would go on to open another LGBT bar in Southeast, Ziegfeld's. Phase 1 was originally located beside Plus One, a gay bar that broke the city’s “no same-sex dancing” code when owners Henry Hecht of the Hecht's department store family, Donn Culver, and Bill Bickford installed a dance floor.
Events
Phase 1 was a sponsor of Capital Pride, the LGBT pride festival held each year in Washington, D.C. and the fourth largest gay pride event in the United States. Phase 1 also worked with local organizations such as the Whitman-Walker Clinic and D.C. Rape Crisis Center.
In August 2007, musician Mara Levi, Phase 1 manager Angela Lombardi, and Riot Grrl, Ink organized the first Phase Fest. The three-day event hosted at Phase 1 featured local and nationwide musical acts such as God-Des and She, Nicky Click, and others which are geared towards lesbians. The event became the largest queer art and music festival on the East Coast.