If you ask patrons of Number Nine or Larry’s Lounge about the Fireplace bar, they might respond, Is the Fireplace still open?
This might be explained partially by the fact that the Fireplace did close for 15 months during the COVID lockdown, but there is more.
West Dupont Circle served as the center of the D.C. gay world in the 1990s, around when the Fireplace opened. There were nine gay bars, including Omega, Badlands, and Friends, but now only one, Fireplace.
Then even the Pride parade would begin at 22nd and P Streets, N.W. Over time, the gay world moved east, first to 17th Street where JR.’s is located and then to 14th Street and today, maybe even 9th and U Streets, N.W.