April 4, 2005
Gentrifying the Gentrifiers
Can a bar created to cater to young professionals itself be gentrified? That's the question on the minds of some Columbia Heights residents who have watched Wonderland Ballroom race rapidly from a non pretentious neighborhood hangout to an aggressively hip lounge, complete with the corresponding aggressive pricing and Orange Line clientele. After opening in 2004 in a residential neighborhood in Columbia Heights at the old site of the gay bar Nob Hill, Wonderland developed a reputation as a neighborhood hangout for local scenesters.
A quick comparison between an October 2004 review by the Post's Fritz Hahn and a recent visit reveals quite a few changes. The bar upstairs and its beer selection has been expanded (see the taps above), prices have increased, and more sport coats and button downs can be found in the Friday night crowd than just a few weeks ago. All of this makes us wonder whether Hahn's pronouncement he has "a feeling it's not going to be overrun by 'outsiders' anytime soon" might need some revising. It is also no wonder that Wonderland has been one of the targets of a "Stop Gentrification" stenciling campaign.
> See DCist on Columbia Heights gentrification, and City Paper cover story.
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Hipsters, get over it--gentrification doesn't stop with the first wave. Neighborhoods and neighborhood hangouts are necessarily temporary. Enjoy your fave bar for a while and understand that it will be taken over by khakis soon enough. It always happens...no matter how obscure your fave bar is.
Oh man - 'Orange Line clientele' is such a fabulous description! I haven't been to Wonderland is a long time but after reading this I'm less eager to head over. Too bad as it was one of the few bars that actually made me like living in the District.
It's true that friday and saturday nights get packed with an abundance of 'outsiders' but I dont think the place has lost its spirit. Besides any small, independently owned business in DC needs the outsider bizniz to keep afloat... so the influx of outsiders is a necessary price to pay.
Wonderland Bar still retains it's get down without gettin' uppity vibe. I particularly love the upstairs dj gigs, esp. on the first saturdays of each month (check out www.soulreportdc.com). When I walk in during those crowded weekend nites, I still see plenty of friendly faces, a majority of which are from my neighborhood. This place has got to be the most attitude-free, relaxed and broadly diverse spot in town... the vibe is more like a Brooklyn bar and certainly more boho than button-down.
But if you wanna experience a Wonderland evening made of locals only, I suggest hanging out there on the weekday evenings (Monday-Thursday).
One more thing, I'd like to make a major gripe about that punk who spray painted 'Stop Gentrification' all over my neighborhood establishments, ie Columbia Heights Coffee and Wonderland!! I can undestand your grievance had you expressed yourself against a Starbucks or a TGI Fridays in the hood, but these locally owned, small businesses provide MUCH NEEDED services to a commercially starved area of DC. If these sorts of businesses are what you are trying to stop, what are you trying to keep/promote - more check cashing places, corner liquor stores selling expired junk food, and plexiglass covered chinese carryouts??? Check your head and don't be spittin' on my peeps!
Dear unreadably formatted website,
You ask, "Can a bar created to cater to young professionals itself be gentrifed[sic]?" This is an awfully zen question for a Monday morning. I can think of similar questions, like, if a woman is very tall, will high-heeled shoes make her a tiny bit taller? Or if I'm eating something really salty, will more salt make it saltier? And what if I expand the beer selection?
I don't know any bridge and tunnel people aware that there is more DC to the east of 18th street, but I'm happy you had time to make a recent visit to Wonderland. All of us regulars recognized you when you walked in, because you were wearing that little hat with the "press" sign on it, and you kept taking pictures of the taps. I was sitting at the table full of guys in button down shirts and sport coats.
We Wonderland regulars would like to thank you for bringing to the attention of DCist's readers the woeful state of the bar's clientele. In truth, it has become unvisitable. Drinks are served by surly staff in thimbles you cannot afford without a credit check. The music, once notable, is now provided simply by a large radio tuned to one-oh-one-point-one. There is frequent gun violence outside, sparked, I believe, by the influx of new money, itself attracted by the formerly grand bar. And, as I understand it (I cannot myself afford to go any longer), the restroom attendants are unreasonably demanding of tips.
The bar has gone to hell, I'm afraid, and it's awfully good of you to let everyone out there know, so they don't make the trip all the way out to 5th and Euclid to see for themselves. Thank you very much, unreadably formatted website.
Hello "Raven":
Click refresh, I believe we resolved the display problems for IE.
Dear readably formatted website,
Indeed.
Sincerely,
RavenT
An expanded beer selection! Heaven forfend!!
Wonderland is really crowded on weekends (which includes Thursday nights) but it is still a wonderful local bar. This post feels a little bit like those people who decide a band sucks once it gets more popular than it was for its first few gigs. The "I knew it when" approach also seems a little silly given the place hasn't even been open for a full year yet.
I live a few blocks away and remain very glad to have this business in my neighborhood.
What happened to the fries at the Wonderland? They were so tasty, addictive even. But as of Thursday they are no longer on the menu! Maybe too many carbs for orange-line dwellers?
"Orange Line clientele"... "bridge and tunnel people"... thanks, DCist, for reminding me that DC can still compete with NYC in the hipster asshole olympics.
"Coolumbia Heights" said the only thing even remotely coherent here. If you're all about "stopping" places like the Wonderland and Columbia Height Coffee from being attractive enough that people from outside the neighborhood might actually visit, you're left with two options: Corporatization (hello, Cheesecake Factory!) or blight. So by all means, cut off your nose to spite your face. Lousy successful local businesses.
Having never been to Wonderland, I can't really speak much about the specifics of whether it has changed, become more popular, etc. *However* the liberal use of the "g" word in this instance seems inappropriate. Is denim being replaced by khaki really gentrification??! Please "hipsters/scenesters", get over yourselves.
xtain,
Yes, yes it is. Plenty of room for khaki on 18th Street and M Street.
The only reason I've never been to Wonderland is because I assumed that it was themed around the Wonderland murders. But I'm sure glad everyone's pissed off about it.
Raven: "Bridge and tunnel". We're way far south of where that term is correctly applied. Were you thinking of a place like Northsix?
A few things:
-Maybe you should look at opening not-for-profit bars and restaurants in new neighborhoods.
-If you don't like "sport coats and button downs" what on earth are you doing in DC? This place is a natural habitat for preps... Move to SF.
JB: "You'll never live like common people..."
This isn't going to turn into Jarvis Cocker karaoke, is it?
Rules of thumb for going out in DC:
On Weekdays: Go out in your own neighborhood. Get to know a bartender or two by their first name, and a jukebox like the back of your hand.
On Weekends: Invade somebody else's neighborhood. Explore some place you've never been.
Always: Unmercifully clown people that think they know you because of your zip code.
Xtian makes a good point: the term "gentrification" is like the new "terrorism." It's so overused, no one really knows what it means anymore. White dudes in khakis moving in on a bar frequently populated by white dudes in ThriftStore (TM) brand clothing is NOT gentrification. Locally owned small businesses like CH Coffee and Wonderland are NOT gentrifiers. While I agree that it sucks when a neighborhood bar loses its neighborhoodiness, it's just not gentrification.
Great point, underused. It must be a really slow day for stories when we spend time debating khaki vs denim, especially when both are being worn by young, white yuppies.
Actually, if the Khaki-wearers and the be-rich-not-poor types would square off against each other in violent WEST SIDE STORY choreography, I would travel to whatever zip code necessary to see that.
I don't know, DCeiver... have you seen the way these people dance?
DC has hipsters? I thought we only had dorksters.
Ok, I can't comment on the Wonderland or Columbia Heights Coffee, but I can say that JB's Market (directly adjacent to CHC) has gone WAY downhill since I moved into the neighborhood. JB used to sell mostly single cans of beer and Newport cigarettes, but now he does a brisk business in 6-packs of Yuengling and Camel Lights. Seriously, WTF? Pretty soon I'm going to be standing in line next to some khaki-pants-wearing jerk.
i, for one, lament the loss of the prostitution ring that used to be so healthy in my neighborhood (south of Logan). many a night was spent outside at stoney's watching the MPD set up sting operations to catch those very orange-liners on their way home...
It never occured to me that hipster and dorkster weren'y synonymous.
Now it's those fucking Friendsters that I'd keep my eye on. They're all sick bastards.
Actually, it was a joke, as I am the one buying up the Yuengling and Camel Lights. As I understand it, it's safe and legal to sell single cans of beer in the neighborhood. Not so for single cigarettes.
Actually, it was a joke, as I am the one buying up the Yuengling and Camel Lights. As I understand it, it's currently safe and legal to sell single cans of beer in the neighborhood. Not so for single cigarettes.
"the khaki wearers and the be-rich-not-poor types... square off against each other in violent WEST SIDE STORY choreography..."
"Crazy!"
"Cool!"
DCeiver, if you can find a way to set that up, you've got an audience. Or, to lessen the violence factor by a bit, perhaps a 'khaki v. denim' boxing circuit, with proceeds to charity?
To take place in the U Street no-man's land?
The wonderland is the shiznit when DJ Eurok is there the first friday of the month.
This is a hoot! The 2005 team from DC for the Hipster Asshole Olympics is truly a combination of talent and teamwork. My favorite is hearing horn-rimmed wearing, sideburn flashing, ironic T-shirt wearing kids snarking about how their favorite neighborhoods are changing since they moved in 3 years ago..And how those people from MD and VA are ruining it all, and in the same breath praising little, blue-collar holes in the wall in MD and VA for being bastions of authenticity. Another favorite is watching the young white hipster kids working for non-profits trying to pose their urban cred while working in Anacostia..now that's a hoot!