"The Kat" | |
Clientele arriving at The Krazy Kat speakeasy in July 1921: Cleon Throckmorton (right), Inez Hogan (middle), Kathryn Mullin (left) | |
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Address | 3 Green Court Washington, D.C. United States |
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Coordinates | 38°54′14″N 77°01′52″W / 38.904°N 77.031°W |
Owner | John Don Allen, John Stiffen & Cleon Throckmorton[1] |
Opened | 1919 |
Closed | Circa 1926? |
The Krazy Kat Klub—also known as The Kat and later rebranded as Throck's Studio—was a Bohemian cafe, speakeasy, and nightclub in Washington, D.C. during the historical era known as the Jazz Age.[2] Founded in 1919 by 21-year-old portraitist and scenic designer Cleon "Throck" Throckmorton,[3] the back-alley establishment functioned as a speakeasy after the passage of the Sheppard Bone-Dry Act by the U.S. Congress in March 1917 that imposed a ban on alcoholic beverages in the District of Columbia.[4] Within a year of its founding, the speakeasy became notorious for its riotous performances of hot jazz music which often degenerated into mayhem.[5]
The speakeasy's name derived from the androgynous title character of a comic strip popular at the time,[6] and this namesake communicated that the venue catered to clientele of all sexual persuasions, including polysexual and homosexual patrons.[7] Due to this inclusivity, the secluded venue served as a clandestine rendezvous spot for Washington, D.C.'s gay community to meet without fear of exposure.[8] The speakeasy's clientele were known for their unapologetic embrace of free love ("unrestricted impulse").[9] By 1922, The Krazy Kat had become infamous, and municipal authorities publicly identified the venue as "a disorderly house," a euphemism for a brothel.[1]
Perhaps due to its infamous reputation, The Krazy Kat became one of the most vogue locations for Washington, D.C.'s artists, bohemians, flappers, and cultural elites to mingle.[10] Contemporary sources alleged that, during the second term of President Woodrow Wilson's administration (1916–1921), the establishment's habitués included federal government employees as well as possibly members of the U.S. Congress.[11]
After existing for over half-a-decade and surviving a number of police raids,[12] the speakeasy presumably closed by 1926 when Cleon Throckmorton and his first wife Kathryn "Kat" Mullin relocated to Greenwich Village in New York City.[13] Today, the speakeasy's neighborhood is the site of The Green Lantern, a D.C. gay bar.[14]