Gayborhood, There Goes the

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.