Local
Sale of Phase 1 ends 45-year run of lesbian bar
Building goes for $3.3 million
(Washington Blade file photo by Damien Salas)
Phase 1, a lesbian bar that has operated in the Barrack’s Row section of Capitol Hill since 1970, became a part of gay bar history last month when its building, owned by Phase 1 co-founder Allen Carroll, sold for $3.3 million, according city tax records.
Although Phase 1 has been closed since last June, Carroll applied to have its liquor license stored in “safekeeping” at the city’s Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration, raising speculation – and hope by some of its loyal customers – that he might reopen the iconic club.
One year earlier Carroll announced on the bar’s Facebook page that it was being closed for renovation work and would soon reopen. It did reopen a few months later on a limited schedule of Thursday through Saturday nights only.
At the time it reopened he told the Blade he was uncertain of its future.
“I don’t want to close, but the girls have got to support it,” he said. “I’ve always been there for the women. I don’t fully get it. We’ve been there through good times and bad.”
Some of Phase 1’s regular customers speculated that as LGBT rights advances changed the gay and lesbian social scene many former gay bar customers – men and women – feel comfortable going to other clubs that welcome both gays and straights.
City tax records show that although Phase 1 operated in its building at 525 8th St., S.E. for many years, Carroll’s Ft. Washington, Md., based company, AJC II LLC, bought the building in December 2009 for just over $1.8 million. His sale of the building eight years later yielded a profit of just under $1.5 million, city records show.
A large sign hanging on the front wall this week says the building is up for lease and is well suited for a restaurant.
In recent years, the Phase 1 became known as the longest continuously operating lesbian bar in the country. In 1970, when Carroll and his partner Chris Jensen opened the bar, they were among just a small number of gay bar owners who sought to open an exclusively lesbian bar.
Former Phase 1 manager and bartender Angela Lombardi told the Blade in a 2015 interview, when Carol closed the bar for renovation and didn’t make it clear when or if he would reopen, praised Carol for his many years of commitment to keeping the bar open.
“He’s done more than fucking anyone else, more than any lady, more than anyone for our community and for that he deserves serious accolades,” Lombardi said. “He kept it open through thick and thin. That’s his baby. That’s the bar that started it all for him and Chris,” she said.
“Allen has really fought for 45 years to keep those doors open,” she said.
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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