Located one block south of Pennsylvania Avenue, SE near Eastern Market in the Capitol Hill neighborhood, Phase 1 was the oldest continually operating lesbian bar in the United States and the oldest operating LGBTQ bar in Washington, D.C.[1][2] until its closure in February, 2016.

[3] In 1971, Allen Carroll and Chris Jansen founded Phase 1 and would go on to open another LGBT bar in Southeast, Ziegfeld's.

[4] Phase 1 was originally located beside Plus One, a gay bar that broke the city's "no same-sex dancing" code when owners Henry Hecht of the Hecht's department store family, Donn Culver, and Bill Bickford installed a dance floor.

[5][6] Phase 1 also worked with local organizations such as the Whitman-Walker Clinic and D.C. Rape Crisis Center.

[8] The three-day event hosted at Phase 1 featured local and nationwide musical acts such as God-Des and She, Nicky Click, and others which are geared towards lesbians.