Lambda Rising Bookstore (site)

Lambda Rising was opened by Deacon Maccubbin in Washington in 1974 as a small shop stocking anything by, for or about gay men and lesbians. In 1984 it moved to 1625 Connecticut Avenue in Dupont Circle and became the largest LGBT bookstore in the United States. The store organised the city's first gay pride block party in 1975, the event that grew into Capital Pride, and launched the Lambda Literary Awards in 1989. The store closed in 2010, and the building now houses other businesses, so there is nothing to visit inside. It is still a worthwhile stop on a walk through Dupont Circle, which was the centre of gay Washington for decades.