Local
Annie Kaylor of Annie’s Paramount Steakhouse dies at 86
Namesake of popular Dupont restaurant for more than 30 years
Annie Kaylor (Washington Blade archive photo by Doug Hinckle)
Annie Kaylor, a bartender and night manager of Annie’s Paramount Steakhouse near Dupont Circle who became the gay-friendly restaurant’s namesake and public face for more than 30 years, died July 24 of natural causes. She was 86.
People who knew her, both gay and straight, have said Kaylor became a beloved figure on the 17th Street residential and business strip since she began working at the restaurant in 1952, four years after her brother George Katinas opened the then Paramount Steakhouse in 1948.
“Her commitment to impeccable service with a fun attitude, welcoming hospitality to all, and unwavering support to the GLBT community and Dupont Circle neighborhood has set a high standard for everyone else to follow,” according to a message posted on the restaurant’s website prior to her death.
The website says Kaylor and her sister Sue Stout were part of the family-owned restaurant’s all-female service staff who, beginning in the early 1950s, established its reputation as a place of openness and acceptance of all people, including gays.
“Their sense of acceptance soon made the restaurant a gay mecca, where the gay community could come and feel comfortable and safe without being harassed and discriminated upon,” the website write-up says.
“In the 1960s Annie’s name was added to the name and thus Annie’s Paramount Steakhouse was born,” the website says.
Dito Sevilla, a bartender at Floriana Restaurant located across the street from Annie’s and a longtime Annie’s customer, said Kaylor’s reputation as a friend and ally of the gay community and her warmth toward her gay customers is legendary among those familiar with the 17th Street restaurant strip.
Sevilla said one story he has heard repeatedly from older customers who knew Kaylor back in the 1960s appears to capture her warm personality.
“In the late ‘60s or early ‘70s there were two men sitting at a table and she saw that they were holding hands under the table,” Sevilla said he recalls customers telling him. “And she walked up to them and she sort of startled them. She said, ‘You guys don’t have to hold hands under the table.’ She said, ‘No, no – you hold those hands right up here on top of that table.’”
Although her appearances at the restaurant were less frequent in recent years following Kaylor’s retirement, the Annie’s website write-up says she enjoyed talking to longtime customers and staff during her regular visits. Sevilla said she was especially moved when the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington came to the restaurant to sing for her on the occasion of her 80th birthday party.
In prior years, Kaylor rode in a special Annie’s car in D.C.’s Pride Parade, which travels along 17th Street past Annie’s restaurant.
“A CELEBRATION OF LIFE is slated for Tuesday, August 20, 2013 at Annie’s from 6:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m., which would have been her 87th birthday,” reads a fax from loved ones regarding plans for Annie’s memorial. “The memorial service is still being planned by the family. Details to follow.”
Virginia
Parades, community events held to mark Pride Month in Va.
Upwards of 30,000 people attended PrideFest in Norfolk on June 22
Activists across Virginia last month held a series of events to mark Pride Month.
Hampton Roads Pride, a volunteer-run organization founded in 1997, held 37 different Pride events throughout the region in June.
Their biggest event, PrideFest, which is part of their larger three day event, Pride Weekend, celebrated its 36th anniversary on June 22. Pride Weekend took place from June 21-23 and began with a block party at NorVa in Norfolk.
PrideFest took place at Town Point Park, and an estimated 30,000 people attended. More than 70 venders participated, while Todrick Hall and Mariah Counts are among those who performed.
Another PrideFest event with a DJ in the afternoon and live music at night took place in Virginia Beach on June 23. Congressman Bobby Scott and U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) are among those who attended Pride events in Suffolk on June 30.
Norfolk Mayor Kenneth Alexander, along with members of the Norfolk and Virginia Beach City Councils, also attended the Pride events in their respective cities. Jamar Walker, the first openly gay federal judge in Virginia, also took part.
“You know people all throughout Pride Month, at all of our various events, tell me all kinds of stories about their own experiences and the past of this community … and some of our older folks especially, remember when we couldn’t have this,” Hampton Roads Pride President Jeff Ryder told the Washington Blade on Monday during a telephone interview.
“It was a great year,” he added. “It was a big achievement for us to have unique celebrations in each of our seven communities. Each of these cities is so different from one another, but to be able to create a Pride celebration that’s unique in each of those places was really great, and I think really well received by folks who may not have felt represented previously. We’re always trying to do better, to embrace every aspect of our community, and take a big step forward there this year.”
State Dels. Adele McClure (D-Arlington County) and Alfonso Lopez (D-Arlington County) are among those who spoke at Arlington Pride that took place at Long Bridge Park on June 29. The Fredericksburg Pride march and festival took place the same day at Riverfront Park in Fredericksburg.
Republican Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin on June 10 hosted a Pride Month reception in Richmond.
Youngkin in previous years has hosted Pride Month receptions, even though Equality Virginia and other advocacy groups have criticized him for supporting anti-LGBTQ bills.
The Republican governor in March signed a bill that codified marriage equality in Virginia. Youngkin last month vetoed a measure that would have expanded the definition of bullying in the state.
Baltimore
Baltimore street named in honor of trans activist
Iya Dammons is founder of support groups Safe Haven in Baltimore, D.C.
Baltimore city officials and LGBTQ activists participated in a ceremony on June 29 officially dedicating the renaming of a street in honor of transgender woman Iya Dammons, who founded and serves as executive director of the LGBTQ services organization Maryland Safe Haven.
A section of Baltimore’s 21st Street at the intersection of North Charles Street, where the Maryland Safe Haven offices are located, has been renamed Iya Dammons Way.
The ceremony took place six years after Dammons founded Maryland Safe Haven in 2018 and one year after she launched a Safe Haven operation in D.C.in 2023 located at 331 H St., N.E.
A statement on its website says Safe Haven provides a wide range of supportive services for LGBTQ people in need, with a special outreach to Black trans women “navigating survival mode” living.
“Through compassionate harm reduction and upward mobility services, advocacy support, and community engagement, we foster a respectful, non-judgmental environment that empowers individual agency,” the statement says. “Our programs encompass community outreach, a drop-in center providing HIV testing, harm reduction, PrEP, medical linkage, case management, and assistance in accessing housing services,” it says.
Among those participating in the street renaming ceremony were Baltimore City Council member Zeke Cohen, interim director of Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs Alexis Blackmon, and Dominique Morgan, an official with the national foundation Borealis Philanthropy, which provides financial support for transgender supportive nonprofit organizations, including Safe Haven.
“This is a significant achievement and historic moment for our city,” a statement by Maryland Safe Haven announcing the ceremony says. “Iya Dammons has been a tireless advocate for transgender rights and has worked tirelessly to provide safe spaces and resources for transgender individuals in our city,” it says. “This honor is well-deserved, and we are thrilled to see her contributions recognized in such a meaningful way.”
Baltimore
Despite record crowds, Baltimore Pride’s LGBTQ critics say organizers dropped the ball
People on social media expressed concern about block party stampede
BY JOHN-JOHN WILLIAMS IV | This year’s Baltimore Pride Week attracted 150,000 people — record attendance that far exceeded initial projections of 100,000.
But some see room for improvement and want organizers to address safety issues and make changes so the annual event that celebrates the LGBTQ population is better run.
The rest of this article can be found on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
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