WASHINGTON, D.C. – A burlesque redhead with 13-foot high breasts surveys the stylishly gritty neighborhood of Adams Morgan, reminding patrons that the No. 1 bar in the city is only blocks away.
The artist’s rendering of the Madam, as she is known, located on the side of 18th Street NW, is a startling but fitting symbol for the offbeat Madam’s Organ, whose slogan is “where beautiful people go to get ugly.” The Madam looks towards the bar's entrance, which is decorated with wooden barrels, vintage signs and wagon wheels, greeting the weary urban cowboy who enters this particular saloon for a beverage and lively music.
“[The Madam] is a nice piece of art,” said Stuart Chang Berman, who has been coming to Madam’s Organ for the past six years. He added that the French-styled mural teamed with the rustic atmosphere of the bar sums up the neighborhood’s melting pot culture. “It sort of, in a weird way, represents Adams Morgan.”
An Institution
Up until the early 2000s, Adams Morgan wasn’t known for its quality environment. The neighborhood was “seedy,” Berman said, but has turned into a quality area with a strict Advisory Neighborhood Committee to make sure the establishments were under control.
“It used to be the East Village in New York,” said Berman, a New York native. “The West Village would be Georgetown. But recently, Adams Morgan is much more crowded than Georgetown. It’s cheaper and more trendy.”
But Duggen stuck it out through the hard times and has crafted a bar that Berman described as “an institution” and “infamous in D.C.” Another patron, Ben Perez, said the Happy Hour specials had hooked him and kept him coming for several years.
“It’s an interesting, unique, fun place,” said Perez, who works across the street from Madam’s Organ. “People who left D.C., come back for nostalgic reasons. You constantly meet people who came her a long time ago.”
The two men sit at a table on the first floor of the bar. Candles on the bar create a cozy, intimate setting, while electric lights dimly warm the second floor. A narrow, wooden staircase only hints at the third floor and the roof top bar. Paraphernalia covering every millimeter of the walls includes instruments, stuffed animals, paintings of nudes and a framed copy of The Washington Post front page published on the day Martin Luther King Jr. was shot. A small stage sits in front of the window facing the street, which boasts a different genre of music seven nights a week. The Madam’s Biography
Owner Bill Duggen opened Madam’s Organ in 1992 with the simple goal to loosen up and enjoy the district’s thriving nightlife. “I do it to have some fun,” said Duggen with a shrug.
The bar is the quintessential hotspot of the district’s hipster culture. With happy hour specials, a weekend brunch and a roof top tiki bar, it has drawn Desperate Housewives star Teri Hatcher, the Bush twins and supposedly even Prince Edward because of its wild reputation and down-to-earth vibe.
The name is a take off on its surrounding neighborhood, Adams Morgan, which Washingtonians know as one of the most ethnically diverse areas of the district. On any given night, one will find lobbyists, tourists and college students visiting the Madam, sharing drinks and occasionally jumping up on the bar to dance.
“The staff dances to get the crowd going,” explained Paul, a bartender who has been at Madam’s Organ for eight years. “Occasionally we’ll pick a volunteer from the crowd.”
The bar had been at two other district locations before it settled into its current location – a three-story row house. Duggen is quick to point out that Madam’s Organ has been named one of “Playboy” magazine’s best bars in America, as well as one of “Stuff” magazine’s top 20 bars in America. Madam’s Organ has also been featured on E! Television, The Washington Post and Washingtonian magazine for its quirky atmosphere that packs the bar by 11 p.m. every single night.
Behind the Bar
Ralph, who preferred not to give his last name, has bartended at Madam’s Organ for the past two years.
“You’ll find fusion,” he said, pointing at the menu, which listed fried fish, quesadillas and pulled pork barbeque as just a few of its soul food-style dishes. “[There’s] a diverse, mixed crowd here at Madam’s Organ. It’s a great place to hang out.”
Ralph said the majority is white, but added that on any night – just like Adams Morgan itself – it can become an “international crowd.” The bar has welcomed travelers from Australia, Norway, Belgium and New Zealand, he said.
Lend A Helping Hand
As Ralph finishes pouring a beer from the tap, a man walks in and asks Ralph if he’s found a credit card. Then the hunt begins.
“We get five or 10 a day,” he said, referring to the amount of forgotten credit cards and IDs, pulling out a small tin stuffed with cards. “It’s out of control. It’s like looking at a needle in a haystack from hell.”
Ralph searches through dozens of cards wrapped in receipts, inspecting them one by one by the light of a candle. The man hoping to recover his card stands near the center of the bar, where a large statue of a hand sits in front of the beer taps with its middle finger extended. Unfortunately, the card isn’t found and the man tries his luck at one of his other stops that evening.Before the hour is up, a second man will come in searching for a credit card. This time, though, Ralph successfully locates the card, barely skipping a beat in his description of the bar as a community-gathering place that includes game night on Tuesdays, non-profit fundraisers on Thursdays and karaoke on Thursdays and Sundays. “Drunkeoke,” he calls it with a laugh.
Everybody Needs a Dive Bar
Duggen pops behind the bar for a moment, dressed and ready to work. Today’s project is fixing the heat; the patrons at the bar are all wearing their coats.
Duggen dedicates himself to the Madam, his staff and his patrons to ensure his goal of fun is shared by all. He points at the hand statue and said he just purchased it at a yard sale for $5. “To our valued customers,” he jokes.
But Duggen doesn’t joke when it comes to his passion for his bar. He prides the bar on its fun atmosphere, rustic nature and the “good will” that permeates Madam’s Organ.
“In a town where not much is real,” he says, “this bar is pretty f------ real.”
