Halo was a gay bar located at 1435 P Street NW in the Logan Circle neighborhood of Washington, D.C., United States. Founded in 2004 by Ed Bailey and John Guggenmos, Halo first gained attention by being one of the few smoke-free gay bars in the city before its smoking ban was enacted in January 2007.[1][2] Bailey and Guggenmos previously started other Washington D.C. LGBT clubs and events including the Velvet Nation party at Nation, Tracks, Millennium at the 9:30 Club, Ozone, and Cobalt.[1] In 2007, Bailey and Guggenmos sold their remaining share of Halo to Babak Movahedi and opened Town Danceboutique on U Street, NW.[3][4]
 | |
| Address | Washington D.C. United States |
|---|---|
| Type | Gay bar |
| Opened | 2004 |
| Closed | 2010 |
Halo's location was a narrow, two-story building that originally served as an automobile repair shop. When the bar opened in 2004, only the second floor was used by Halo and it consisted of 1,500 square feet (140 m2).[1] In September 2005, the first floor of Halo opened bringing the total amount of space to approximately 3,000 square feet (280 m2) with a capacity for 200 people.[5] Halo's interior design by Greg Keffer of Studios Architecture was influenced by the Art Deco movement. The bar featured curved ceilings, white walls, blue and purple accent lighting, silver bar stools, and winding banquettes.[6] In August 2008, the second floor underwent a $200,000 (equivalent to $280,000 in 2023[7]) renovation designed by Paolo Zavala of VOA Associates Incorporated that was described as retro-futuristic and compared to scenes from Stanley Kubrick's movie, A Clockwork Orange.[8] The reopening of the second floor bar took place on September 5, 2008, and included a ribbon cutting ceremony by Adrian Fenty, then the mayor of the District of Columbia.[8]
Halo closed in early 2010, and was replaced by Mova Lounge. Mova Lounge declared bankruptcy in October 2010.[9] Mova Lounge closed in December 2012. The space was radically renovated (removing much of its modernist look) and occupied by Number Nine in early 2011. The new bar caters to a wider range of customers than Halo or Mova Lounge, although most of its clientele is still primarily gay men.[10]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c Hahn, Fritz (September 24, 2004). "The Halo Effect". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on October 19, 2017. Retrieved December 28, 2017.
- ^ Weiss, Eric M. (June 5, 2006). "D.C. Smoking Ban Approved". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on February 13, 2017. Retrieved December 28, 2017.
- ^ Najafi, Yusef (July 26, 2007). "A popular gay bar changes owners". Metro Weekly. Archived from the original on June 13, 2008. Retrieved May 11, 2008.
- ^ Najafi, Yusef (August 9, 2007). "Going to town". Metro Weekly. Archived from the original on June 13, 2008. Retrieved May 11, 2008.
- ^ Moylan, Brian (September 23, 2005). "I like the nightlife". Washington Blade. Archived from the original on 2008-06-14. Retrieved May 11, 2008.
- ^ Moylan, Brian (August 6, 2004). "Halo lounges on cloud nine". Washington Blade. Archived from the original on 2008-06-14. Retrieved May 11, 2008.
- ^ 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved February 29, 2024.
- ^ a b DiGuglielmo, Joey (September 5, 2008). "Halo's new glow: Four-year-old P Street bar gets $200K renovation". Washington Blade. Retrieved June 18, 2009. [dead link]
- ^ Geidner, Chris (October 21, 2010). "Mova Files for Bankruptcy". Metro Weekly. Archived from the original on 2012-11-14. Retrieved September 7, 2012.
- ^ Han, Fritz (2011-08-05). "Favoring the Tried-and-True Over Trends". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 2009-10-29. Retrieved September 7, 2012.