Herndon's New Gay Bar Good or Bad? (Alexandria, Reston: city hall, hotel)

[FairfaxGuy73]

...from an economic development point of view.

First off, I think that Herndon is a pretty nice place. There has been an illegal immigrant problem, but that doesn't really affect the older estabished neighorhoods and certainly not the zip code areas. It's a real town with a real history. The downtown is still intact and the good bones and many the multi-generations of residents are still there. I blame a lot of the "issues" on the western part, i.e. the Loudoun County: Sterling/Sterling Park area where land use issues (cheap, nasty housing) has allowed for a more poor element to come in. Herndon is also getting a nice hotel to help revitalize the downtown and a Metro station will eventually service it.

Enter NOVA's second gay bar. Fairfax County's first gay bar builds a following in Herndon . Gay bars are associated with gentrification. They are often located in fringe areas where the affluent alternative lifestyle crowd moves in an improves the area. The problem is that I don't think that Herndon is run down enough to qualify for that status. I don't judge the lifestyle, but being one quite conservative when it comes to urban design, I do not like the idea of a rainbow flag flying across the street from the town hall.

I don't have a strong opinion about this. I'd probably fall into the category that it could make Herndon appear "trendy" if shown in the correct light. On the other hand, it could make the traditional old town appear to be decayed. I view it more in the positive light, but haven't even seen the bar yet. The flag needs to go.

[pcity]

Neither good nor bad. It just is. People are making too big of a deal about one bar opening. This is just an example of a bar trying to find a niche in the market. More power to them if they succeed, but one bar does not a trend make.

The gay bar in Crystal City didn't make Crystal City hip all of a sudden, nor did it make Crystal City look decayed. Crystal City didn't all of a sudden become a gay hangout, and except for one block on 23rd Street (which also includes non-gay-oriented places such as the Sports Pub and Thai restaurants), you won't see the rainbow flag flying.

[FairfaxGuy73]

Originally Posted by pcity

Neither good nor bad. It just is. People are making too big of a deal about one bar opening. This is just an example of a bar trying to find a niche in the market. More power to them if they succeed, but one bar does not a trend make.

The gay bar in Crystal City didn't make Crystal City hip all of a sudden, nor did it make Crystal City look decayed. Crystal City didn't all of a sudden become a gay hangout, and except for one block on 23rd Street (which also includes non-gay-oriented places such as the Sports Pub and Thai restaurants), you won't see the rainbow flag flying.

For the gay community, it's huge. If it were in a different part of even small Herndon, I still might agree with you. A biz can get swallowed up in the car jungle out there. However, this is right in the the walkable part of the town. It will have a major impact on that area. Will the drag queen action be kept inside or will the town lose it's family friendly character?

As the article says: "It's also a broader test to see whether a business that caters to gay men and lesbians can succeed and gain mainstream acceptance in a town that was once featured in a book on the 100 "Best Places to Raise Your Family" in the United States."

I'm not taking sides. I love being able to stop at the Dairy Queen (oh no, now the implications of that name!) while on a ride on the W&OD. Not a fan of the illegals here and there, but it's still a nice family friendly area that I consider safe and decent.

[Caladium]

Originally Posted by FairfaxGuy73

I blame a lot of the "issues" on the western part, i.e. the Loudoun County: Sterling/Sterling Park area where land use issues (cheap, nasty housing) has allowed for a more poor element to come in.

I don't know what makes me snicker more, the idea that Herndon needs gentrification (as if it was some sort of impoverished area) or the idea that Loudoun, the richest county in the US, is somehow responsible for this imaginary "poorness" in Herndon. Considering that Herndon homes sell for $500,00 to $1 million or more you have an interesting idea of the poor side of town.

As for blaming Sterling?????? LOL, my goodness you really are into Sterling bashing these days, but this is about as likely as blaming Sterling for the common cold, fruit flies, and the birds that dropped dead in Arkansas

OK, enough laughing. Getting back to the topic of the thread, I think a gay bar in Herndon is going to make a fortune and it's just what the community needs. There are so many young people flooding into the Reston/Herndon area right now--there are a few places to socialize but more are needed.

I'm not sure I understand the comment about flying a rainbow flag across from City Hall--why would that bother anyone?

By the way, yes Herndon is a very nice family community. And that includes a fair number of gay couples, with some raising kids. You're talking as if Herndon has never seen a gay person before. Maybe it was that way back in the 1950s, but these days all sorts of people live in Herndon including plenty of gays.

[Caladium]

By the way, here are some photos of Herndon. Does this look like a poor neighborhood that needs gentrification to you?

[Stephen 81]

Originally Posted by Caladium

By the way, yes Herndon is a very nice family community. And that includes a fair number of gay couples, with some raising kids. You're talking as if Herndon has never seen a gay person before. Maybe it was that way back in the 1950s, but these days all sorts of people live in Herndon including plenty of gays.

This is more of a comment about the journalist/story than anything posted here, but I couldn't believe that a Washington Post reporter in 2011 would make it sound like there was any sort of dichotomy or innate tension between "good place to raise a family" and "good place for LGBT people". No, not many people would choose to raise a family in Logan Circle or other gayborhoods, but there are other places that are LGBT-friendly in this country, and even in this state (Charlottesville comes to mind, and that's a wonderful place to raise kids).

I'm not old enough to confirm this, myself, but apparently this isn't even Fairfax County's first gay bar. Supposedly there used to be one in the Huntington area of Alexandria that was open for almost a decade.

As to what sort of effect this is going to have on Herndon...aside from surprising a lot of people, I'm not expecting much. The bar exists because there is already an LGBT community in western Fairfax and eastern Loudoun, many of whom work in the tech sector. I don't think it will cause an influx of gay people to move to Herndon and "gentrify" it, or cause anyone to leave Herndon, or anything else. Cynically, I don't even think that the bar will last, but that's just me.

[Stephen 81]

Originally Posted by Caladium

By the way, here are some photos of Herndon. Does this look like a poor neighborhood that needs gentrification to you?

Ugh, showing us photos of spring right now. So mean!

[FairfaxGuy73]

Originally Posted by Caladium

I don't know what makes me snicker more, the idea that Herndon needs gentrification (as if it was some sort of impoverished area) or the idea that Loudoun, the richest county in the US, is somehow responsible for this imaginary "poorness" in Herndon. Considering that Herndon homes sell for $500,00 to $1 million or more you have an interesting idea of the poor side of town.

As for blaming Sterling?????? LOL, my goodness you really are into Sterling bashing these days, but this is about as likely as blaming Sterling for the common cold, fruit flies, and the birds that dropped dead in Arkansas

OK, enough laughing. Getting back to the topic of the thread, I think a gay bar in Herndon is going to make a fortune and it's just what the community needs. There are so many young people flooding into the Reston/Herndon area right now--there are a few places to socialize but more are needed.

I'm not sure I understand the comment about flying a rainbow flag across from City Hall--why would that bother anyone?

By the way, yes Herndon is a very nice family community. And that includes a fair number of gay couples, with some raising kids. You're talking as if Herndon has never seen a gay person before. Maybe it was that way back in the 1950s, but these days all sorts of people live in Herndon including plenty of gays.

I was saying that Herndon did not need gentrification.

Loudoun as a whole may be affluent, but not Sterling. Loudoun's planning has been a train wreck. They've switched policies due to dramatic shifts in their board. Left, right, environmental, pro business. It's politics to blame, but they have a lot of problems that start as soon as you cross the county line. This includes nasty low grade housing right across the border (appropriate term) from Fairfax. Herndon has many nice, esp older, traditional houses that have lot of class.

I don't know how to explain the rainbow flag if you don't understand. Why not have a BBQ place at the bottom of Capitol Hill with a big pig in front? Maybe we could put up a billboard for used cars across from the White House. The flag is bad form in that area. To some it could be a sign of urban decay.

Keep the outside in the character of the general area and any crazy action on the inside. I'm not the first one value urban form, aesthetics, zoning, etc.

That said, I do cautiously agree that it could be good if done right.

[Caladium]

Originally Posted by FairfaxGuy73

Loudoun as a whole may be affluent, but not Sterling.

Not true. Sterling has a wide diversity of neighborhoods. Some of them are very affluent. Lowes Island, for example, has one of the highest concentrations of millionaires and multi-millionaires in the county.

[FairfaxGuy73]

To not understand my comment about gentrification is to not understand my post. In an emerging area (traditionally black inner city), a gay bar is almost always going to be a good thing. In established Herndon, that does suffer a reputation problem from illegal immigration, I'm not sure if it will detract more.

To say again, an influx of (gay) money and a reputation for trendiness, could be a good thing. I dunno.