Sliding from Before to After
(For someone who graduated from college with a degree in history, I have done a lousy job over the years of documenting the history of Near Southeast with anything approaching the zeal of my coverage of its present and future. I can offer no good excuses, but I'm going to begin to rectify this with a new series, "Sunday Rearview Mirror." I don't pretend to have the level of knowledge or experience of the pre-ballpark era as those who passed through Near Southeast during those years, but hopefully by taking the time every so often to highlight and describe events from the past I can help make sure that the new residents and workers who only recently heard of Near Southeast have some awareness of the people and events that came before them.)It was in the 1970s that the western edge of Near Southeast became home to a new entertainment district for the city's gay residents, with its remoteness and lack of nearby residences allowing some measure of freedom for a culture that was only just beginning to step out of the closet. The area between South Capitol and First streets--with clubs like the Lost and Found, Club Baths II, Grand Central, Waaay off Broadway and Washington Square--became home not only to nightclubs with dancing and music but also but bathhouses, x-rated movie cinemas, and strip clubs. One of the new clubs was the Cinema Follies, which opened in 1975 at 37 L St., SE, showing x-rated gay films.  On Oct. 24, 1977, an explosion on the ground floor triggered by cleaning chemicals started a fire, with flames quickly consuming carpeting and wall hangings, blocking the exit for the patrons who had been in the 50-seat second floor theater. The fire never reached the second floor, but the smoke quickly became overpowering. However, a door that led to the roof was padlocked, and the windows had been replaced with cinderblocks. According to the Washington Post's account, "most of the victims were found in the orange-and-black theater seats [...] and may have been overcome by the smoke before they realized what was happening." Nine people died as a result of the fire, making it the deadliest fire in Washington DC up to that time, a mark that stood until a fire at an unlicensed group home on Lamont Street, NW, killed 10 in April 1979. Identification of those who died at the Follies was hampered by the fact that, as the Post reported, "Many homosexuals do not carry identification when they visit homosexual gathering places," being "wary about the possibility of jeopardizing jobs or social position by having nonhomosexuals learn of their sexual orientation" in case their presence at club might be made public "through a police raid or other event." (An interesting sidelight to the issue of identification was a column by Post ombudsman Charles Seib soon after the fire, questioning the Post's decision to not use the full names of some of those who died and no names at all of the injured. The column quoted then-Managing Editor Howard Simon as saying that the paper's main motivation was "compassion for the wives and children" [since some of the victims were married] but Seib went on to ask whether this approach had the effect of "underscoring the stigma of homosexuality, of shoving it back in the closet at a time when efforts are being made to bring it out and address it as a social fact?" This is an issue that papers still clearly struggle with, even today.)  William Oates, the manager of the club, was eventually fined $650 in 1979 for violating four building codes, though city officials stated that Oates "did everything possible" to try to comply with the laws, but poor city record keeping and poorly written codes made it difficult. (The city did work to strengthen its codes in the wake of the fire.) However, nearly eight years after the fire, in September of 1985, families of four of the victims were awarded more than $1.5 million in a civil suit against the club's owners. I plan to write more Rear-View Mirror entries in the future about the neighborhood's past as a nightclub district, but until then, this 2003 pamphlet by the Rainbow History Project gives a great overview of the clubs that used to be such an integral part of Washington's gay culture. Hard to believe that, when the pamphlet was written, the authors had no idea how little time the existing clubs had left.
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Spoofy says: (6/6/10 10:08 PM)
VERY interesting! Please keep up the good work and excellent writing.
MJM says: (6/7/10 7:59 AM)
Yes, very interesting article!! Just always thought that building was taxi cab related. Looking forward to next Sunday's piece.
JD says: (6/7/10 9:22 AM)
Thanks, everyone. I'm not sure the Rear-View Mirror posts will be *every* Sunday, maybe every other week or so. Don't want to blow through all the content too quickly! :-)
Michael says: (6/8/10 5:58 PM)
On the day that the fire happened, I was there at 5:00pm, noted that there was not "much action," and left to do some bar hopping. I got home at 10:00pm that evening, in time for the news, and heard that the fire had started around 5:30pm. Since then, I have met people who were even luckier than I was. One gentleman that I talked with told me that he heard the explosion right after he left the building. The next day, at my job at the Pentagon, there were lots of "jokes" about the fire. I was so angry at the insensitivity of people!!! This was so sad!!!
JD says: (6/8/10 10:49 PM)
Thanks for posting, Michael. I was wondering whether anyone who was there or who had first-hand knowledge of it might be reading.
Kevin says: (6/9/10 3:05 PM)
Thanks JD! I worked at those clubs... (tee hee!) and that is some very important history. 1975 - who knew gays existed back THEN! LOL. ;-)
andy says: (6/14/10 6:02 PM)
When talking about the clubs in the area at the time - gotta give a big shoutout to the PIER ONE - I spent much of my formative years there
In my day says: (6/17/10 4:45 PM)
Fascicnating.. Thanks so much !!
I think it is so important to understand that Marion Barry was very much behind the developement of the Gay Scene in those days. It pains me now to hear the ongoing 'West Hollywoodisms' attributed to Fenty and the current council when Barry deserves more 'credit' than anyone. It was never about race then. I guess grandstanding then it no different than grandstanding now.
Thanks Again for this
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Three-block park on the site of the old Washington Canal. Construction begun in spring 2011, opened Nov. 16, 2012.
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DC Public School, closed in 2006, but reopening in stages beginning in 2015.
Agora/Whole Foods
336-unit apartment building at 800 New Jersey Ave., SE. Construction begun June 2014, move-ins underway early 2018. Whole Foods expected to open in late 2018.
New Douglass Bridge
Construction underway in early 2018 on the replacement for the current South Capitol Street Bridge. Completion expected in 2021.
1221 Van
290-unit residential building with 26,000 sf retail. Underway late 2015, completed early 2018.
NAB HQ/Avidian
New headquarters for National Association of Broadcasters, along with a 163-unit condo building. Construction underway early 2017.
Yards/Parcel O Residential Projects
The Bower, a 138-unit condo building by PN Hoffman, and The Guild, a 190-unit rental building by Forest City on the southeast corner of 4th and Tingey. Underway fall 2016, delivery 2018.
New DC Water HQ
A wrap-around six-story addition to the existing O Street Pumping Station. Construction underway in 2016, with completion in 2018.
The Harlow/Square 769N Apts
Mixed-income rental building with 176 units, including 36 public housing units. Underway early 2017, delivery 2019.
West Half Residential
420-unit project with 65,000 sf retail. Construction underway spring 2017.
Novel South Capitol/2 I St.
530ish-unit apartment building in two phases, on old McDonald's site. Construction underway early 2017, completed summer 2019.
1250 Half/Envy
310 rental units at 1250, 123 condos at Envy, 60,000 square feet of retail. Underway spring 2017.
Parc Riverside Phase II
314ish-unit residential building at 1010 Half St., SE, by Toll Bros. Construction underway summer 2017.
99 M Street
A 224,000-square-foot office building by Skanska for the corner of 1st and M. Underway fall 2015, substantially complete summer 2018. Circa and an unnamed sibling restaurant announced tenants.
The Garrett
375-unit rental building at 2nd and I with 13,000 sq ft retail. Construction underway late fall 2017.
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270-unit rental building and 227-room Thompson Hotel, with 20,000 sq ft retail total. Construction underway fall 2017.
Meridian on First
275-unit residential building, by Paradigm. Construction underway early 2018.
The Maren/71 Potomac
264-unit residential building with 12,500 sq ft retail, underway spring 2018. Phase 2 of RiverFront on the Anacostia development.
DC Crossing/Square 696
Block bought in 2016 by Tishman Speyer, with plans for 800 apartment units and 44,000 square feet of retail in two phases. Digging underway April 2018.
One Hill South Phase 2
300ish-unit unnamed sibling building at South Capitol and I. Work underway summer 2018.
New DDOT HQ/250 M
New headquarters for the District Department of Transportation. Underway early 2019.
37 L Street Condos
11-story, 74-unit condo building west of Half St. Underway early 2019.
CSX East Residential/Hotel
225ish-unit AC Marriott and two residential buildings planned. Digging underway late summer 2019.
1000 South Capitol Residential
224-unit apartment building by Lerner. Underway fall 2019.
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Reconstruction of the 160-unit building for low-income seniors that was destroyed by fire in 2018.
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Recent Issued Building Permits
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1300 4TH ST SE 1001
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02/22/21
AP BOWER RETAIL LLC / null
E2104231 /
SUPPLEMENTAL
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1346 4TH ST SE APT 1M
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02/06/21
null / NA NA NA
EHOP21945129 /
HOME OCCUPATION
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1331 4TH ST SE R-2
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02/08/21
FC 1331 LLC / FC 1331 LLC
BP2101814 /
POST CARD
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10 I ST SE
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02/16/21
CAPITOL HILL RACQUET CLUB / NA; VICTORIA STEINHOFF
SB2100112 /
CONSTRUCTION
Installation of up to six (6) 3-inch diameter direct-push Geoprobe borings to depths of up to 30 feet below grade as part of an environmental assessment.
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555 L ST SE
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01/29/21
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA / RENNE WELL; RICK HARLAN SCHNEIDER
B2102004 /
CONSTRUCTION
DGS PROJECT REHABILITATION+RESTORATION OF THE HISTORIC LINCOIN FIELDHOUSE
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861 NEW JERSEY AVE SE 20003
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02/23/21
809-853 NEW JERSEY AVE ACQUISITION LLC / SUSANA VAZQUEZ
AH2100728 /
CONSTRUCTION
Dismantling of tower crane.
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809 NEW JERSEY AVE SE
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02/11/21
GREYSTAR GP LLC 809-853 NEW JERSEY AVENUE ACQUISITION LLC / null
E2103926 /
SUPPLEMENTAL
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853 NEW JERSEY AVE SE
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02/11/21
GREYSTAR GP LLC / null
E2103924 /
SUPPLEMENTAL
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861 NEW JERSEY AVE SE
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02/05/21
GS CSX HOTEL OWNER LLC / null
E2103762 /
SUPPLEMENTAL
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1275 NEW JERSEY AVE SE
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02/02/21
FC 1275 NJ LLC / null
E2103662 /
SUPPLEMENTAL
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02/11/21
FC 1275 NJ LLC / null
P2103445 /
SUPPLEMENTAL
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848 SOUTH CAPITOL ST SE
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02/16/21
CXS TRANSPORTATION INC / VICTORIA STEINHOFF; TBD
SB2100111 /
CONSTRUCTION
Installation of up to six (6) 3-inch diameter direct-push Geoprobe borings to depths of up to 30 feet below grade as part of an environmental assessment.
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AH = After Hours; B = Alteration & Repair; D = Demolition; E = Electrical; FB = Boiler; M = Mechanical; P = Plumbing and Gas; PC = Post Card; R = Raze; SG = Sign; TL = Tenant Layout; TN = Tent; RW = Retaining Wall;
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