Krazy Kat Klub

Krazy Kat Klub
"The Kat"
Krazy Kat LOC npcc.04658.jpg
Clientele arriving at The Krazy Kat speakeasy in July 1921: Cleon Throckmorton (right), Inez Hogan (middle), Kathryn Mullin (left)
Map
Address3 Green Court
Washington, D.C.
United States
Coordinates38°54′14″N 77°01′52″W / 38.904°N 77.031°W / 38.904; -77.031
OwnerJohn Don Allen, John Stiffen & Cleon Throckmorton[1]
Opened1919 (1919)
ClosedCirca 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]

  1. ^ a b The Washington Post 1919, p. 5.
  2. ^ The Washington Herald 1921, p. 22; Flambeau 1922, p. 7; Farmer 2012.
  3. ^ The Washington Times 1921, p. D9; InTowner 2009; Congressional Record 1966, pp. A531–A532.
  4. ^ The Washington Times 1917, p. 11; The Sunday Star 1927, p. 5.
  5. ^ The Washington Times 1920, p. 13.
  6. ^ Flambeau 1922, p. 7; Bellot 2017.
  7. ^ Bellot 2017; InTowner 2009; Baek 2014; Flambeau 1922, p. 7.
  8. ^ InTowner 2009; Baek 2014; Alexander 1993.
  9. ^ Flambeau 1922, p. 7.
  10. ^ The Washington Herald 1921, p. 22.
  11. ^ The Washington Post 1919, p. 5; Kebler 1919, p. 15; MessyNessy 2012.
  12. ^ The Washington Post 1919, p. 5; MessyNessy 2012.
  13. ^ The New York Times 1965, p. 37; The Washington Herald 1926, p. 1; New York Daily News 1926, p. 17.
  14. ^ Baek 2014.