![]() 6 and immediately shut down the club with an emergency closure order, according to Mimi Simon, a spokesperson for the department.Ĭonditions inside the bar included “obstructed egress areas, expired fire extinguishers, lack of fire resistant materials in certain areas, improperly stored gas tanks, exposed electrical wiring and unsanitary conditions throughout the property,” Simon said.Įxit will remain closed until the building owner remediates all violations, Simon said. Investigators from the city’s Department of Buildings’ Strategic Task Force inspected Exit, 1315 W. The lead singer can be seen in the lower right corner, also performing.GOOSE ISLAND - Exit, a dive bar that’s been home to Chicago’s punk music scene since the ’80s, was shut down by the city last week due to allegedly “dangerous and hazardous” conditions inside the club. ~ Source: DigDC: DC Public Library ~ Creator: Willard Ross Minor Threat performing at the Wilson Center, April 4, 1981: Photograph: A black and white photograph of Minor Threat's guitarist during a performance at the Wilson Center. The church served the community for decades before it became a concert venue for local punk bands. ~ Source: DC Preservation League Photo Archive ~ Creator: Zachary Burt ~ Date: January 2023 Exterior, Central Presbyterian Church (Wilson Center) - Historic Photograph: Historic photograph of the former Wilson Center. The front of the building features large Doric columns. ~ Source: DC Preservation League Photo Archive ~ Creator: Zachary Burt ~ Date: January 2023 Exterior, Central Presbyterian Church (Wilson Center): Current photograph of the former Wilson Center. The center, located in the basement, was named after President Woodrow Wilson, who had been a congregant of the church during and after his presidency. Media Images Exterior, Central Presbyterian Church (Wilson Center) - full exterior: Current photograph of the Central Presbyterian Church, which housed the Wilson Center. This site is a part of the Exploring DC's Go-Go and Punk Music Scenes Tour. The Wilson Center acted as a safe haven for both Latinx youth escaping violence in the city and punks trying to find spaces to express themselves and their ideas without disruption from authorities. While punks no longer use the space as a concert venue, the legacy of the Wilson Center remains. ![]() By that point, the building had already been converted to an elementary school, but had opened its doors to the punk scene as a final goodbye. The last punk concert held in the Wilson Center occurred in 2001, with multiple generations of punks dancing, singing, and screaming along to their favorite bands one last time. From then on, bands once again filled the church basement with punk music and its loyal fans. ![]() This stalemate ended in 1987, when Fugazi held their first show in the Wilson Center. ![]() However, this relationship hit a roadblock when increasing violence in slam dancing (a type of dance where people run into and hit one another while moving in a counterclockwise circle called a pit) and fighting led the Wilson Center’s administration and the local community to ban punk bands from continuing to use the space. ![]() From then on, the space turned into one of the more popular venues for local bands, seeing as punk bands were continually banned from clubs, bars, and other venues. The first documented punk concert took place in 1981, when Bad Brains, along with 12 other bands, all played a show together at the Wilson Center. As early as the mid-1960s, the church was a safe haven for Latinx people fleeing Central America, as war, economic strife, and political upheaval ensued throughout the mid-to-late-20th century. The Wilson Center didn’t just operate as a concert venue, however it, along with the church, served as a community center for the Latinx population immigrating to Washington, DC. Textĭespite its location in the basement of a Presbyterian church tucked between the Mount Pleasant Historic District and Columbia Heights, the Wilson Center became a popular punk venue in the 1980s because bands could play loudly and without interference from adults or local authorities. Exploring DC's Go-Go and Punk Music Scenes Tour: The Wilson Center The church served the Latinx community, but also opened its doors to the local punk scene. ![]()
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