Local
Obituary: Steven Smith, 57
Steven Smith (Blade file photo)
Steven Smith, a D.C. resident since the early 1980s and the owner of the Capitol Hill gay bar Remington’s, died April 15 at Georgetown University Hospital from complications associated with liver cancer. He was 57.
Smith’s partner, Doug Bogaev, said Smith and then partner Dick Brandrupt bought Remington’s in July 1985 when it was called Equus. The two renamed the bar Remington’s and continued operating it as a popular gay country-Western bar that featured dancing.
Smith later enlarged the bar by expanding it into an adjacent building on the 600 block of Pennsylvania Avenue, S.E., where it has operated since it first opened as Equus in 1980.
According to Bogaev, Smith was born in Miami, and grew up in Tyrone, Ga. Smith served five years in the U.S. Coast Guard before moving to D.C. in the early 1980s, Bogaev said.
Under Smith’s ownership, Remington’s has been credited with hosting numerous LGBT community events, including fundraisers for the city’s annual Capital Pride festival and parade.
Smith was praised by LGBT activists in 1997 for his handling of an incident in which five Marines stationed at the U.S. Marine Barracks located a few blocks away at 8th and I Streets, S.E., tossed a tear gas grenade into Remington’s, causing minor injuries to several customers and triggering an uproar in the gay community.
The incident, which was considered an anti-gay attack, drew national media attention and statements of condemnation by D.C. government officials. LGBT activists staged a protest demonstration outside the Marine Barracks to demand strict disciplinary action against the perpetrators of the attack.
Smith, who called on the Marine commandant to take steps to prevent future harassment against the bar by Marines, told the Blade that a barracks commander apologized and promised to take swift disciplinary action against any Marine creating problems for the bar.
While saying he was sympathetic to the activists’ protest against the barracks, Smith also told the Blade he supported the Marines and didn’t want to see the Marines’ reputation tarnished because of a “few bad apples.”
Bogaev said he will continue to operate Remington’s along with the bar’s staff.
“I feel he was an absolutely wonderful person,” said Bogaev. “He would always put a smile on your face.”
In addition to Bogaev, Smith is survived by two brothers, Bobby and James, and a sister, Sharon.
A celebration of his life is scheduled to take place at Remington’s on May 7 from 5 to 8 p.m.
Contributions in lieu of flowers can be made to the American Cancer Society and Whitman-Walker Health, the new name for D.C.’s Whitman-Walker Clinic.
Rehoboth Beach
BLUF leather social set for April 10 in Rehoboth
Attendees encouraged to wear appropriate gear
Diego’s in Rehoboth Beach hosts a monthly leather happy hour. April’s edition is scheduled for Friday, April 10, 5-7 p.m. Attendees are encouraged to wear appropriate gear. The event is billed as an official event of BLUF, the free community group for men interested in leather. After happy hour, the attendees are encouraged to reconvene at Local Bootlegging Company for dinner, which allows cigar smoking. There’s no cover charge for either event.
District of Columbia
Celebrations of life planned for Sean Bartel
Two memorial events scheduled in D.C.
Two celebrations of life are planned for Sean Christopher Bartel, 48, who was found deceased on a hiking trail in Argentina on or around March 15. Bartel began his career as a television news reporter and news anchor at stations in Louisville, Ky., and Evansville, Ind., before serving as Senior Video Producer for the D.C.-based International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers union from 2013 to 2024.
A memorial gathering is planned for Friday, April 10, 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. at the IBEW International Office (900 7th St., N.W.), according to a statement by the DC Gay Flag Football League, where Bartel was a longtime member. A celebration of life is planned that same evening, 6-8 p.m. at Trade (1410 14th St., N.W.).
District of Columbia
D.C. Council member honored by LGBTQ homeless youth group
Doni Crawford receives inaugural Wanda Alston Legacy Award
About 100 people turned out Tuesday evening, April 7, for a presentation by D.C.’s Wanda Alston Foundation of its inaugural Wanda Alston Legacy Award to D.C. Council member Doni Crawford (I-At-Large) for her support for the foundation’s mission to support homeless LGBTQ youth.
Among those who attended the event was Japer Bowles, director of D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs, who delivered an official proclamation issued by Bowser declaring April 7, 2026 “A Day of Remembrance for Wanda Alston.”
Alston, a beloved women’s and LGBTQ rights activist, served as the city’s first director of the then newly created Office of LGBTQ Affairs under then-Mayor Anthony Williams from 2004 until her death by murder on March 16, 2005.
To the shock and dismay of fellow LGBTQ rights advocates, police and court records reported Alston, 45, was stabbed to death inside her Northeast D.C. house by a man high on crack cocaine who lived nearby and who stole her credit cards and car. The perpetrator, William Martin Parrott, 38, was arrested by D.C. police the next day and later pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. He was sentenced in July 2005 to 24 years in prison.
Crawford was among those attending the award event who reflected on Alston’s legacy and outspoken advocacy for LGBTQ and feminist causes.
“I am deeply humbled and honored to receive this inaugural award,” Crawford told the Washington Blade at the conclusion of the event. “I think the world of Wanda Alston. She has set such a great foundation for me and other Council members to build on,” she said.
“Her focus on inclusivity and intersectionality is really important as we approach this work,” Crawford added. “And it’s going to guide my work at the Council every day.”
Crawford was appointed to the D.C. Council in January of this year to replace then Council member Kenyan McDuffie (I-At-Large), who resigned to run for D.C. mayor as a Democrat. She is being challenged by four other independent candidates in a June 16 special election for the Council seat.
Under the city’s Home Rule Charter written and approved by Congress, the seat is one of two D.C. Council at-large seats that cannot be held by a “majority party” candidate, meaning a Democrat.
A statement released by the Alston Foundation last month announcing Crawford’s selection for the Wanda Alston Legacy Award praised Crawford’s record of support for its work on behalf of LGBTQ youth.
“From behind the scenes to now serving as an At-Large Council member, she has fought fearlessly for affordable housing, LGBTQ+ funding priorities, and racial justice,” the statement says. “Council member Crawford’s leadership reflects the same courage and conviction that defined Wanda’s legacy.”
Organizers of the event noted that it was held on what would have been Wanda Alston’s 67th birthday.
“Today’s legacy reception was a smashing success,” said Cesar Toledo, the Alston Foundation’s executive director. “Not only did we come together to celebrate Wanda Alston on her birthday, but we also were able to raise over $10,000 for our homeless LGBTQ youth here in D.C.,” Toledo told the Blade.
“In addition to that, we celebrated and we acknowledged a rising star in our community,” he said. “And that is At-Large Council member Doni Crawford, who we named the inaugural Wanda Alston Legacy Award recipient.”
At the request of D.C. Council Chair Phil Mendelson (D-At-Large) the Council voted unanimously on Jan. 20, 2026, to appoint Crawford to the Council seat being vacated by McDuffie.
Council records show she joined McDuffie’s Council staff in 2022 as a policy adviser and later became his legislative director before McDuffie appointed her as staff director for the Council’s Committee on Business and Economic Development for which McDuffie served as chair.
Calendar: April 10-16
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