In 1971, Allen Carroll and Chris Jansen founded Phase 1 and would go on to open another LGBT bar in Southeast, Ziegfeld's.[4] Phase 1 was originally located beside Plus One, a gay bar that broke the city's "no same-sex dancing" code when owners Henry Hecht of the Hecht's department store family, Donn Culver, and Bill Bickford installed a dance floor.[2]
Events
Phase 1 was a sponsor of Capital Pride, the LGBT pride festival held each year in Washington, D.C. and the fourth largest gay pride event in the United States.[5][6] Phase 1 also worked with local organizations such as the Whitman-Walker Clinic and D.C. Rape Crisis Center.[7]
In August 2007, musician Mara Levi, Phase 1 manager Angela Lombardi, and Riot Grrl, Ink organized the first Phase Fest.[8] The three-day event hosted at Phase 1 featured local and nationwide musical acts such as God-Des and She, Nicky Click, and others which are geared towards lesbians.[9][10] The event became the largest queer art and music festival on the East Coast.[7]