After Last week’s talk on this blog, Slate, and others about the history and future of the American gay bar comes some sad news. Washington, DC‘s Apex (formerly known as Badlands) closed its doors for the final time on Tuesday, July 5th.

Apex opened as Badlands in 1983 and was DC’s longest running gay dance club.

It was the first gay bar I ever went to, and I have both fond and less-than-fond memories of it. I remember driving past its cinder block, windowless facade in high school and wanting so badly to venture inside, and I have fond memories of finally making it there with a group of friends for the first time when we were all home from college. I also remember having to pre-game before we went out because, as an 18+ bar, they were very strict on IDs. The interior was only a little bit more appealing than the exterior but it was a sprawling space with multiple rooms that facilitated dancing.

DC’s Metro Weekly has a good piece about the shuttering of Apex that I highly reccommend reading for more details.

Photo by: Gordon Wells

Do you have a good story from Apex or another recently closed gay bar? Feel free to share your stories in Comments…