Exploring LGBT DC - 7/7 - Nationals Park

The final stop of our tour is Nationals Park, which opened in 2008 to house Washingtons Major League Baseball team. However, before high-beam stadium lights lit up this neighborhood, it was a collection of warehouses and light industrial buildings that housed an LGBT entertainment district. Unlike like Dupont Circle and Capitol Hill, the area offered a remoteness that was both positive and negative for LGBT people. On one hand, the environment provided a degree of anonymity that was appreciated by private and closeted patrons. On the other, it opened the door widely for hate crimes. As a result, a group by the name of the Gay Ex-Marines was formed in the 1970s to patrol the streets, protecting club goers from young Marines from the nearby Navy Yard who were up to no good. Over the years, the area was also important for a very special part of the LGBT community drag performers. At one point, DC-area bars and clubs offered more than 40 weekly drag shows. Pier 9, which was the first gay club to open its doors in the area in the 1970s, hosted performances by the Awards Club a group of female impersonators that was one of the city's first organized LGBT community groups.

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