Lambda Rising
Lambda Rising was an LGBT bookstore that operated from 1974 to 2010 in Washington, D.C.
Founded by Deacon Maccubbin in 1974 with 250 titles, it was known for its wide selection of books, ranging from queer theory and religion to erotica, as well as DVDs, music CDs and gifts.
The bookstore was originally located in 300 square feet (28 m2) at 1724 20th Street NW. It moved to a 900-square-foot (84 m2) retail space at 2001 S Street NW in 1979 and, in 1984, moved to a 4,800-square-foot (450 m2) space at 1625 Connecticut Ave NW Connecticut Avenue, N.W., in Dupont Circle, one of Washington's neighborhoods popular among the gay and lesbian community.
A second store in Baltimore, believed by the Baltimore Sun to be the only gay bookstore in Maryland, opened in 1984 and closed in the spring of 2008. Director John Waters declared that store's closing "very, very sad". Waters, a long-time customer, said the Baltimore shop was "a seriously good bookshop, with the added touch of porno. ... I always went in there to find books that I didn't know about and couldn't find anywhere else." A third store in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware opened in 1991 and closed in December 2009.
A fourth store in Norfolk, Virginia, opened in 1996 and closed in June 2007.
In February 1975, Lambda Rising ran the world's first gay-oriented television commercial; it aired on WRC (owned by NBC) and WTOP (the local CBS affiliate, now WUSA). Also in 1975, Lambda Rising organized Gay Pride Day, the forerunner to Capital Pride, Washington's first annual gay pride celebration, and continued to host the event for the next four years before turning it over to a non-profit organization.
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