DC's LGBTQ+ History: Lamda Rising
This storefront north of Dupont Circle became a major LGBTQ+ bookseller prior to its closure in 2009.
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Deacon Maccubbin opened Lamda Rising bookstore in 1974 in a 300-square-foot space on 19th Street NW. The bookstore opened at a significant time for the LGBTQ+ movement, as only one year prior to the store's opening the American Psychiatric Association had stopped classifying homosexuality as a mental illness. Maccubbin stated in a 2009 article for the American Booksellers Association: “We thought if we could show that there was a demand for our literature, that bookstores could be profitable selling it, we could encourage the writing and publishing of GLBT books, and sooner or later other bookstores would put those books on their own shelves." In 1977, James Bennett joined Maccubbin as a co-owner.
Lamda Rising, a reference to "lambda," a Greek letter and gay liberation symbol, relocated to S Street NW before moving to its final location at 1625 Connecticut Avenue NW in 1984. It eventually became the nation's largest gay and lesbian bookstore, selling "anything by, for, or about gays and lesbians," as stated to the Washington Post in 1984. The bookstore closed in late 2009.
This is a stop on the DC's LGBTQ+ History Tour.
For more information about DC's LGBTQ History, please see the Historic Context Statement for Washington’s LGBTQ Resources.
