Krystina Edwards, community engagement manager at the Ruth Ellis Center, the Highland Park-base nonprofit that provides support to LGBTQ youth, told Crain’s that the Woodward is considered a safe community space for queer people, particularly those of color. Curtis Lipscomb, executive director of the nonprofit LGBT Detroit, told the paper that by the 90s, the spot had shifted to become more welcoming to the city’s Black LGBTQ community. The Freep says that William Karagas first opened the Woodward in 1954 and that over time it began to attract customers from nearby Wayne State’s notable gay population. No one was inside the property at the time of the blaze and no injuries were reported.
Flames continued to burn the building over several hours and appears to be a total loss. Tuesday at 6426 Woodward Ave in the city’s New Center area when, according to the Freep, a woman at New Life Orthopedics and Prosthetics up the street said she smelled smoke. Detroit fire officials are investigating a fire that destroyed The Woodward Bar & Grill, noted as the oldest LGBTQ bar in Detroit, on Monday, a blaze that forced evacuations of nearby businesses.
