Phase 1 (bar)
Encyclopedia
Phase 1, also known as The Phase, is 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 is the oldest, continually operating lesbian bar in the United States
and the oldest, operating LGBT
bar in Washington, D.C. 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. The current manager of Phase 1 is Angela Lombardi.
Phase 1 is 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 works 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
. PhaseFest 2008 was held September 10 to September 13.
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
bar
Bar (establishment)
A bar is a business establishment that serves alcoholic drinks — beer, wine, liquor, and cocktails — for consumption on the premises.Bars provide stools or chairs that are placed at tables or counters for their patrons. Some bars have entertainment on a stage, such as a live band, comedians, go-go...
and nightclub
Nightclub
A nightclub is an entertainment venue which usually operates late into the night...
at 525 8th Street, Southeast in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
Located one block south of Pennsylvania Avenue
Pennsylvania Avenue
Pennsylvania Avenue is a street in Washington, D.C. that joins the White House and the United States Capitol. Called "America's Main Street", it is the location of official parades and processions, as well as protest marches...
, SE near Eastern Market
Eastern Market, Washington, D.C.
The Eastern Market is a public market in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Washington, D.C., housed in a 19th century brick building. It is located on 7th Street SE, a few blocks east of the U.S. Capitol between North Carolina Avenue SE and C Street SE. The Eastern Market is on the National...
in the Capitol Hill
Capitol Hill, Washington, D.C.
Capitol Hill, aside from being a metonym for the United States Congress, is the largest historic residential neighborhood in Washington D.C., stretching easterly in front of the United States Capitol along wide avenues...
neighborhood, Phase 1 is the oldest, continually operating lesbian bar in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and the oldest, operating LGBT
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
bar in Washington, D.C. In 1971, Allen Carroll and Chris Jansen founded Phase 1 and would go on to open another LGBT bar in Southeast, Ziegfeld's
Ziegfeld's
Ziegfeld's/Secrets was a dual bar located at 1345 Half Street SE in Washington, D.C. It is one of the oldest and most respected drag bars in the world. The bar was circular and divided by a wall with a bar in the middle and doors on either side....
. Phase 1 was originally located beside Plus One, a gay bar
Gay bar
A gay bar is a drinking establishment that caters to an exclusively or predominantly gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender clientele; the term gay is used as a broadly inclusive concept for LGBT and queer communities...
that broke the city’s “no same-sex dancing” code when owners Henry Hecht of the Hecht's
Hecht's
Hecht's, also known as Hecht Brothers, Hecht Bros. and the Hecht Company, was a large chain of department stores located mainly in the mid-Atlantic and southern region of the United States....
department store family, Donn Culver, and Bill Bickford installed a dance floor. The current manager of Phase 1 is Angela Lombardi.
Phase 1 is a sponsor of Capital Pride
Capital Pride (Washington)
Capital Pride is an annual LGBT pride festival held in early June each year in Washington, D.C. As of 2007, the festival was planned and produced by Whitman-Walker Clinic, and is the fourth-largest gay pride event in the United States.-1970s:...
, the LGBT pride festival
Gay pride parade
Pride parades for the LGBT community are events celebrating lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender culture. The events also at times serve as demonstrations for legal rights such as same-sex marriage...
held each year in Washington, D.C. and the fourth largest gay pride event in the United States. Phase 1 also works with local organizations such as the Whitman-Walker Clinic
Whitman-Walker Clinic
Whitman-Walker Health , , is the largest nongovernmental HIV/AIDS health care organization in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. It has historically served a primarily LGBT clientele...
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
God-Des and She
God-Des and She are a hip-hop/pop/soul duo from the Midwest.Since they appeared on the Showtime hit series The L Word in 2006, they have sold more than 30,000 albums and toured the world....
, Nicky Click, and others which are geared towards lesbians. The event became the largest queer
Queer
Queer is an umbrella term for sexual minorities that are not heterosexual, heteronormative, or gender-binary. In the context of Western identity politics the term also acts as a label setting queer-identifying people apart from discourse, ideologies, and lifestyles that typify mainstream LGBT ...
art and music festival on the East Coast
East Coast of the United States
The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, refers to the easternmost coastal states in the United States, which touch the Atlantic Ocean and stretch up to Canada. The term includes the U.S...
. PhaseFest 2008 was held September 10 to September 13.