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 LGBTQ bar in Washington, D.C.[1][2] until its closure in February, 2016.[3]
In 1971, Allen Carroll and Chris Jansen founded Phase 1 and would go on to open another LGBT bar in Southeast, Ziegfeld's.[4] 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.[2]
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.[5][6] Phase 1 also worked with local organizations such as the Whitman-Walker Clinic and D.C. Rape Crisis Center.[7]
In August 2007, musician Mara Levi, Phase 1 manager Angela Lombardi, and Riot Grrl, Ink organized the first Phase Fest.[8] 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.[9][10] The event became the largest queer art and music festival on the East Coast.[7]
38°52′55″N 76°59′42″W / 38.881992°N 76.994988°W / 38.881992; -76.994988