According to Genny Beemyn in their book, “A Queer Capital,” Washington, D.C. really is the “queer capital” of the U.S.
With some of the most politically and socially active LGBT communities in the nation, the District has been the birthplace for many movements and organizations, such as the Mattachine Society of Washington and the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington, D.C. Certainly, the District does not tend to be the first city that comes to mind when considering the country’s most LGBT-friendly cities, especially when many of the hate-filled campaigns in the 1950s that hoped to crack down on those who were gay were launched by police and federal officials centered in the District.
Despite this, there have been several people, marches, and headquarters in the city that have bolstered the political strength of the LGBT community, such as the National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights in 1979.
Below, Curbed DC has mapped the Furies headquarters, the location of the Mattachine Society of Washington’s fifth protest, and other LGBT landmarks and historical locations worth knowing and even visiting. Washington Blade and the D.C. Preservation League both contributed to the making of this list.
If you spot any missing LGBT landmarks, be sure to let Curbed DC know by leaving a suggestion in the comments.
[UPDATE 7/19/17: The Pentagon was the site of the Mattachine Society of Washington’s fifth protest, not first.]
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