Dupont Circle still has plenty of gay nightlife—see: Cobalt, JR’s, the Fireplace—but it’s lost its claim to the mantle of the “gayborhood,” the epicenter of D.C.’s gay scene. That title is now up for grabs: Some people give it to Logan Circle, others elsewhere. But it’s clear that “in the last 10 years, the idea of a gayborhood has migrated east in the city,” says DJ and party promoter Shea Van Horn, who co-hosts the monthly queer dance party MIXTAPE. The hub has increasingly become the area around 9th and U streets NW: There are monthly and one-off gay parties at DC9, Velvet Lounge, Dodge City, 1905, the Howard Theatre, and U Street Music Hall. There are gatherings at new beer garden Dacha. And there’s a steady scene at Nellie’s and Town, the anchors of what could, until the borders shift once again, claim to be D.C.’s latest gayborhood.
Gayborhood, There Goes the
Once, it was Dupont. Then, it was Logan Circle. Now, it's...?