Ziegfeld's/Secrets was a dual-themed nightclub in Washington, D.C., with Ziegfeld's featuring drag queens, and Secrets featuring strippers. The entertainment venue first opened in 1980, was forced to close in 2006, then reopened in a new location in 2009. The second location was closed permanently in 2020. [1]
Originally located at 1345 Half Street SE, the circular venue was divided by a wall with a shared bar in the middle and connecting doors.
The Ziegfeld's side of the venue featured a large stage adorned on either side by a giant silver high-heeled shoe. Each weekend on Friday and Saturday drag queen Ella Fitzgerald (née Donnell Robinson [2] ), a staple at the venue, hosted her "Ladies of Illusion" for two performances a night (one on Sundays.) The shows lasted approximately an hour and featured five drag queens doing various performances for packed crowds.
On the Secrets side of the venue, there were fully nude male dancers (catering to a mostly gay male crowd). It was one of the few venues in the United States where male strippers are allowed to dance fully nude.[ citation needed ]
In 2006 the property was seized by the District of Columbia via eminent domain and torn down, along with many other gay-oriented businesses, to make way for the new Nationals Park baseball stadium. [3]
The closing of the bar, compounded with the loss of several nearby LGBTQ businesses, was met with outrage and disappointment. Many were concerned whether the bar could find a new location. Under District law, businesses with a liquor license that permitted nude dancing could only relocate within their current zoning district or in a central business district. The new location would also have restrictions on proximity to residences, churches, and schools.
Ziegfeld's/Secrets reopened in early 2009 at 1824 Half St., SW, Washington, D.C., a few blocks southwest of its former location. The transfer of its liquor license to the new location was approved, [4] and the club set a "grand opening" date of February 13, 2009. [5] The nondescript building was all black with a neon pink "Z/S" above the door. The new venue maintained the theme of two connected bars, now divided by two levels: drag performances on the first level, with all-nude male dancers on the second level. Leading lady Ella Fitzgerald continued to perform at Ziegfeld's.
While shuttered during the coronavirus pandemic, Ziegfeld's announced the venue had been sold, and the business would not reopen. [6] [7]
A striptease is an erotic or exotic dance in which the performer gradually undresses, either partly or completely, in a seductive and sexually suggestive manner. The person who performs a striptease is commonly known as a "stripper" or an "exotic dancer".
A stripper or exotic dancer is a person whose occupation involves performing striptease in a public adult entertainment venue such as a strip club. At times, a stripper may be hired to perform at a bachelor party or other private event.
A lap dance is a type of erotic dance performance offered in some strip clubs in which the dancer typically has body contact with a seated patron. Lap dancing is different from table dancing, in which the dancer is close to a seated patron, but without body contact. With lap dancing, the dancer may be nude, topless or scantily dressed, depending on the laws of the jurisdiction and the club's policies. With full-contact lap dances, the stripper may engage in non-penetrative sexual contact with the patron, such as "grinding" or "twerking" their body against the patron. Variant terms include couch dance, which is a lap dance where the customer is seated on a couch. In some places, a "block session" of lap dances can be booked in a "champagne room" or "VIP room", which is a private room usually located in the back of a club. In many clubs, the duration of a lap dance is measured by the length of the song being played by the club's DJ. Charges for lap dances vary significantly.
A gay bar is a drinking establishment that caters to an exclusively or predominantly lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) clientele; the term gay is used as a broadly inclusive concept for LGBT communities.
A strip club is a venue where strippers provide adult entertainment, predominantly in the form of striptease or other erotic or exotic dances. Strip clubs typically adopt a nightclub or bar style, and can also adopt a theatre or cabaret-style. American-style strip clubs began to appear outside North America after World War II, arriving in Asia in the late 1980s and Europe in 1978, where they competed against the local English and French styles of striptease and erotic performances.
The Peppermint Lounge was a popular discotheque located at 128 West 45th Street in New York City that was open from 1958 to 1965, although a new one was opened in 1980. It was the launchpad for the global Twist craze in the early 1960s. Many claim The Peppermint Lounge was also where go-go dancing originated, although this claim is subject to dispute.
Bada Bing! is a fictional strip club from the HBO drama television series The Sopranos. It was a key location for events in the series, named for the catchphrase "bada bing", a phrase popularized by James Caan's character Sonny Corleone in The Godfather. The popularization of the fictional club benefited the real-life go-go bar, Satin Dolls, where scenes were filmed. The Bada Bing is loosely based on Wiggles, a strip club owned by New Jersey mobster Vincent Palermo before it was shut down.
The legal status of striptease varies considerably among different countries and the various jurisdictions of the United States. Striptease is considered a form of public nudity and subject to changing legal and cultural attitudes on moral and decency grounds. Some countries do not have any restrictions on performances of striptease. In some countries, public nudity is outlawed directly, while in other countries it may be suppressed or regulated indirectly through devices such as restrictions on venues through planning laws, or licensing regulations, or liquor licensing and other restrictions.
The Star Theater, formerly known as Princess Theatre and several other names, is a historic former silent film theater in Portland, Oregon, United States. The address was originally 9 Northwest Sixth Avenue, but since 2001 has been 13 Northwest Sixth Avenue. The theater currently operates as a live music and performance space; in the past, it has operated as a film theater as well as a burlesque theater and an adult movie theater.
Three Sisters Tavern, sometimes abridged as Three Sisters and nicknamed "Six Tits", was a gay bar and strip club in Portland, Oregon, United States. The bar was founded in 1964 and began catering to Portland's gay community in 1997 following the deaths of the original owners. The business evolved into a strip club featuring an all-male revue. Also frequented by women, sometimes for bachelorette parties, Three Sisters was considered a hub of Portland's nightlife before closing in 2004.
The Ottobar is a music venue in the Charles Village neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland, in the United States. In 2018 the Ottobar was named one of the 10 best live music venues in America by Rolling Stone Magazine. The Washington Post describes it as a "bastion of sub-mainstream music...where the insular community of artists and scenesters flock to hear the best touring bands." It also hosts theme events, dance parties, and an occasional burlesque show.
DC9 Nightclub is a nightclub and restaurant in the Shaw neighborhood of Washington, D.C. It is known for its indie music scene, dance parties, and karaoke. DC9 has a capacity of 250 people and is a venue for live music and DJs.
Anna Genovese was an Italian-American businesswoman in the Italian mob and the second wife of mobster Vito Genovese of the Genovese crime family and the Costello crime syndicate. She played a key role in Manhattan's drag bar scene in the middle of the 20th century.
The Cock is a gay dive bar in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. It is noted for its exhibitionist atmosphere and popularity as a cruising destination. Opened in 1998, the venue has been described by them. magazine as "a rarified taste of old New York and the cruisy gay scene that existed [there] in the '80s and '90s". In the late 1990s and early 2000s, it experienced frequent police raids under Mayor Rudy Giuliani's anti-nightlife crackdowns. The Cock has relocated twice, and its 2015 move along Second Avenue was met with opposition by nearby residents and Manhattan Community Board 3. Two other attempted moves, in 2014 and 2021, were blocked by the community board. Critics characterize the bar as "filthy", "seductive", and "alluring", noting that it is an unusual find in the United States and bears resemblance to European red-light district establishments.
In Washington, D.C., LGBT culture is heavily influenced by the U.S. federal government and the many nonprofit organizations headquartered in the city.
Boxers NYC Washington Heights, also known simply as Boxers Washington Heights or Boxers WaHi, was a gay sports bar in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. It was the fifth establishment opened by the Boxers NYC nightlife brand. The bar featured weekly events such as Latin nights, karaoke parties, urban nights, open mic events, drag shows, and screenings of NFL games and RuPaul's Drag Race. Its September 2018 debut was met with concern that it would contribute to gentrification of the area, but its approval was straightforward. The venue proved to be popular and received praise for its comfortable, welcoming atmosphere. Boxers Washington Heights announced its closure on September 29, 2020, citing difficulties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Hercules is a gay bar and nightclub in Helsinki, Finland. Operating since 2000, it is the third establishment opened by Moek Trading Oy. The venue caters primarily to gay men over 30, and its live entertainment features drag queens and strippers. The bar was located in Helsinki's Kamppi neighborhood until the end of 2015, when a hotel took over its space. It subsequently reopened at an address in Etu-Töölö, where it endured a number of events that caused financial strain. That location closed in December 2020, when the building was sold to new owners. The club then reopened across the street from Helsinki's central railway station in October 2021. Critics generally describe Hercules as popular, edgy and welcoming.
Ella Fitzgerald is the drag persona of Donnell Robinson, an American drag queen based in Washington, D.C. Known as "the doyenne of D.C.'s drag scene," she hosted a long-running show at the drag club Ziegfeld's and is a mainstay of the city's annual Capital Pride.
Rise Bar, or simply Rise, is a gay bar in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 2015, it is a small establishment surrounded by a number of larger LGBT nightlife venues. The bar is most popular among gay men and some women. It features pop music and hosts weekly entertainment including drag shows, open-mic nights and karaoke. Though Rise's owners invested in soundproofing before it opened, noise concerns from nearby residents initially led the local community board and state liquor authority to require the venue to close at an earlier hour than its competitors. Following a contentious series of applications to modify Rise's operating schedule and liquor license, this requirement was overturned for weekend nights. The establishment has received praise for its welcoming, diverse atmosphere.