Where: 2009 8th St NW, Washington, DC 20001, United States
When opened: November 17th, 2007
When closed: July 1st, 2018
“It turned into this really amazing wonderful, loving huge community.”
Tom Goss, reminiscing about Town Danceboutique on his episode of Lost Spaces. Listen to the full episode below
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History
Town Danceboutique was a nightclub in Washington, DC, that rose out of the ashes of former club night Velvet Nation.
That night, the brain child of John Guggenmos and Ed Bailey, stopped operating in 2006 following the closing of its host venue, Nation (located at 1015 Half Street, SE, Washingon DC).
Guggenmos and Bailey chose to take on the challenge of opening a mega-club across a sprawling two-story, 20,000-square-foot (1,900 m2) property. The venue incorporated state of the art lighting and video installations throughout.
The venue was forced to close in 2018 when the building’s new owner chose to terminate the lease so that the building could be developed in to apartments.
But hope is not lost! As of September 2021 plans are afoot to reopen in a new location – an old church located at 1001 North Capitol St.
Nights
Drag
The venue had a diverse range of nights and events, but the jewel in their crown were the drag nights. Thanks to their space, LED lights and sound system they were able to attract high profile drag artists, including many cast members from Ru Paul’s Drag Race.
Bear Happy Hour
Happy hour + bears = Bear Happy Hour.
It did exactly what it said on the tin.
One of the club’s most popular nights, the event was targeted at bears and their admirers.
It was also featured in the music video for the Tom Goss single ‘Bears’ (are you spotting a theme here?).
Town & Country
Line dancing, two-stepping, and general merriment were found at Town & Country (and see what they did with the name? Clever, right?)
Did you ever go to Town Danceboutique?
Have any stories, photos or funny anecdotes to share?