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Portland Flats

Apartment buildings in Washington, D.C.Buildings and structures demolished in 1962Demolished buildings and structures in Washington, D.C.Renaissance Revival architecture in Washington, D.C.Residential buildings completed in 1881
Portland Flats
Portland Flats

The Portland Flats (later known as the Portland Hotel) was the first luxury apartment building constructed in Washington, D.C. Construction of the elaborate building, designed by architect Adolf Cluss, was completed in 1881. It was built on the south side of Thomas Circle, a traffic circle and park where 14th Street NW, M Street NW, Massachusetts Avenue NW, and Vermont Avenue NW intersect. The triangular-shaped building's main architectural feature was the corner tower and dome, which resulted in the Portland Flats resembling an ocean liner sailing into Thomas Circle. Portland Flats was built as a business venture for Edward L. Weston. Apartment buildings had become a popular residential option in his native New York and the trend continued in Washington, D.C., after completion of the Portland Flats. Its design and prestige influenced dozens of apartment buildings being constructed in the city within a decade of its completion. There would eventually be hundreds of apartment buildings constructed in Washington, D.C., during the next several decades. Many of these were later demolished, including the Portland Flats in 1962. It was replaced with an office building that was later converted into a hotel. The design of the Portland Flats later inspired an identically-named residential building constructed in Brookland.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Portland Flats (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Portland Flats
Vermont Avenue Northwest, Washington

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Latitude Longitude
N 38.904859 ° E -77.032172 °
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Vermont Avenue Northwest

Vermont Avenue Northwest
20005 Washington
District of Columbia, United States
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Krazy Kat Klub
Krazy Kat Klub

The Krazy Kat Klub—also known as The Kat and Throck's Studio—was a Bohemian cafe, speakeasy, and nightclub in Washington, D.C. during the historical era known as the Jazz Age. Founded in 1919 by portraitist and scenic designer Cleon "Throck" Throckmorton, the back-alley establishment functioned as a speakeasy after the passage of the Sheppard Bone-Dry Act in March 1917 by the United States Congress that imposed a ban on alcoholic beverages in the District of Columbia. Within a year of its founding, the club became notorious for its riotous live performances of hot jazz music which often degenerated into mayhem.The club's name derived from the androgynous title character of a comic strip that was popular at the time, and this namesake communicated that the venue catered to clientele of all sexual persuasions, including polysexual and homosexual patrons. Due to this inclusive policy, the secluded venue became a rendezvous spot for Washington, D.C.'s gay community who could meet without fear of exposure. By 1922, the Kat's libertine denizens were known for their unapologetic embrace of free love ("unrestricted impulse"), and municipal authorities publicly identified the venue as a den of vice.Over time, the club became one of the most vogue locations for Washington's cultural elites to mingle. Contemporary sources alleged that, during the second term of President Woodrow Wilson's administration, the club's habitués included federal government employees as well as possibly members of the U.S. Congress. After existing for over half-a-decade and surviving numerous police raids, the club presumably closed at an indeterminate date prior to 1928 when Throckmorton relocated to Hoboken, New Jersey. Today, the club's neighborhood is the site of The Green Lantern, a D.C. gay bar.