A New Podcast Captures the History of DC's LGBTQ Bars

"After Abby Stuckrath learned that the Washington Blade is the oldest LGBTQ newspaper in the country, she began digging into its archives for glimpses of gay life in decades past. The research eventually led her to DC's Rainbow History Project, where she kept seeing the names of certain bars and clubs: now-defunct spots such as the Brass Rail, the Showboat, and Phase One. Stuckrath, now a WTOP producer, and her sibling, Ellie Stuckrath, a nonprofit communications professional, had moved to DC from Colorado and were still searching for a sense of belonging in their new home. They decided to channel their casual research into an intriguing podcast, Queering the District, which recently completed its first season."

""DC is where I discovered myself and fell in love with the queer community," Abby says. "And then I fell in love with the history here." The first group of episodes, they decided, would be about bars and clubs-for decades, the only public places where LGBTQ people could safely gather and let loose."

"The podcast format allows the siblings to capture voices of people who frequented some of the bars, such as veteran drag mother Rayceen Pendarvis, who recalls places like the Black Nugget, a 14th Street joint popular with sex workers, where singers in drag sometimes used live snakes and fire for routines on a cramped dance floor. Then there was Nob Hill, a Kenyon Street bar that catered to gay Black men and was sometimes called "the Wrinkle Room" because of its older crowd."

Abby Stuckrath researched the Washington Blade archives and DC's Rainbow History Project to uncover historical queer life and venues in Washington, DC. Abby and her sibling, Ellie Stuckrath, moved from Colorado and created the Queering the District podcast to reconnect with the city's LGBTQ history and community. The first season focuses on now-defunct bars and clubs that served as safe public gathering spaces for LGBTQ people. Episodes feature firsthand voices, including drag mother Rayceen Pendarvis, who recounts venues like the Black Nugget where drag performers used snakes and fire. Episodes also cover Nob Hill and the Clubhouse, documenting joy, grief, and belonging amid the AIDS epidemic.

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