Denny Lyon, director of operations at Nellie’s, has been working in D.C. Henry’s didn’t market itself as a gay establishment (never a cruise bar, he says) but it’s always been known as gay-friendly and still counts 25 to 30 percent of its patrons as gay.Īs for gay bars that go straight, we have yet to hear of one. That’s because they’re the DC area’s oldest and most storied establishments (and whether that means the. Cruisy neighborhood bar, happy hour features 2x sized drinks till 10pm. DCs LGBT community for more than 30 years and worked at several gay. If walls could talk at these 13 bars, they’d have stories FOR DAYS. According to Alvin Ross, the restaurant’s current owner and an employee since 1969, Henry Yaffe bought the place (originally a country/western bar) in 1966 and set out to capture three audiences: the real estate crowd (Yaffe restored houses on the Hill in addition to being a hairdresser), Evening Star reporters (who worked a few blocks away), and gay folks (Yaffe was gay). Other DC bars have tried to imitate this event, but the Lantern was the first to. Henry’s on the Hill is a bit more nuanced-not gay per se, but expressly gay-friendly for more than 50 years. The Fireplace in Dupont Circle originally opened as a female strip club in the 1950s, but it’s been a gay spot for at least the past 40 years. Others have long histories with gay clientele, even if they didn’t start out that way. Though the location has operated as a hetero comedy club, a barbecue restaurant, and a Korean karaoke bar since the 1970s, the Green Lantern returned it to its roots when it opened as a gay bar in 1991. 3 Green Court, and served as a rendezvous spot for D.C.’s early gay community. Number Nine, a gay-friendly bar located in the heart of Logan Circle, is a recently renovated space that features two levels with ample seating, marble bars and. We will once again return to the streets and meet each other as we renew the bonds and. In the early 20th century, a speakeasy treehouse called Krazy Kat Klub operated right across from the present-day Green Lantern, at what was then No. According to Greg Zehnacker, the bar’s owner and operator, the building and alleyway near 14th Street NW have hosted gay bars on and off since the 1900s. The Green Lantern didn’t open until 1991, but the alley it sits in has always been gay.