Landmark Drag Club to Reopen in SW

Greg, who submitted this post, is the co-author of SWDCBlog.com and a resident of Southwest Washington.

When the new Nationals Stadium opened last year in Washington, DC, few people realized that the players were pitching and sliding on the exact spot where, just three years before, drag queens and male dancers strutted and shimmied. Third base marks the former site of Ziegfeld's/Secrets, a combination drag venue and nightclub that, for over 25 years, boasted names like "Ella Fizgerald" and "Mame Dennis."

Ziegfeld's was just one of many gay oriented businesses in near Southeast, a worn neighborhood of car repair shops and warehouses until the new ballpark and accompanying development wiped them all away. The city promised new locations, but eliminated the possibility of recreating the old "gay business district" by limiting transfer of the businesses' licenses to two per city ward. Opposition from residents, largely religious, has prevented any from relocating. Until now, that is--Ziegfeld's will soon reopen in Southwest DC.

Read more about Ziegfeld's reopening here.