Review of Palace of Wonders in NE Washington D.C

Washington's Palace of Wonders is a performance venue, museum of oddities, and bar all rolled into one. It's like a mini Ripley's Believe it or Not with many side show attractions always on display on each floor of the building. My friend Chris and I have been trying to go for some time, but since it's a hike from Union Station (1210 H St. NE Washington, DC 20002 ) and there is no parking we just never go. It's located in the heart of the Atlas District which is a new name for the location used by the City to gentrify the current population so they can build mini malls and upscale housing. It's also where the trolley is also being built if the incompetent city council can ever get their heads out of the sand. Currently the place is an ugly boarded up mess with the road under construction for the trolley that isn't being build. Sometimes you just have to love D.C.

Atmosphere - Enough of my ranting back to Palace of Wonders. The beers are average priced and the hipster in you will be happy to know that the 16 oz PBR's are only $4. It's not a large place and if you're downstairs you're going to be jammed up against the stage or bar. Also the backrooms are downstairs past the bar and tiny performance stage, so if you're planning on peeing just go outside. There are plenty of back alleys to go in. Upstairs isn't much better but it does have a balcony directly over the stage so you can see the action from either floor. This becomes impossible with more than a dozen people though so you'll be left watching the 1987 UHF quality of close circuited televisions around the bars. Seating is super limited and people will rudely steal your seat. I went once before and waited in line forever and it was a bunch of cool hip people with crazy outfits in the goth, punk, psychobilly, and other ALT styles of dress. This time it was kaki's and boat shoes. It was Bro-Namath central just a bunch of dudes who came because they heard there were naked ladies and is too pussy to visit an actual strip club. It was kind of oppressive after a while. Also the ladies who did perform had no security provided so they were being grabbed by many of the patrons who sucked.

Show - It was The Skullduggery and Skin Show which travels, but comes to Palace of Wonders often. The show promised burlesque, magic, stunts, etc. I can tell you I saw no magic of any kind. The show started late and then had the hype man come out and he was funny. Two dances came out separate and gave classic burlesque performances which were good. Then they had some boring stuff with a dog. People were selected from the audience and clothing was placed over their clothing and then they had to perform. There was a bachelorette party so the bride to be went up. Little did we know that she was a dance major, and rocked the house with a full routine. This all took 50 minutes then they called intermission so they could sell raffle tickets. This went on f-o-r-e-v-e-r and Chris and I left because the show never started again. $10 for a short show is not worth it. I liked Bebar better than this place and it was a gay bar that had burlesque shows on occasion.

Food/Drink - No food and the drinks are standard. Beer was reasonably priced and rail drinks were standard.

Service - During a performance you can walk right up to the bar and get a drink, but any other time it is super packed. So stock up when the bar is empty. Thankfully they do not limit the amount of drinks you can buy.

Cost - The cost of admission was steep because the show was...bad. No cover charge I would have been happy, but when I venture out to a place and blow $10 I don't want to leave the place feeling like I should have gone to the movies.

Quick Facts

Location - 1210 H St. NE Washington, DC 20002

Closest Metro - Union Station (Red line) It's super far away.

Phone - 202.398.SHOW(7469)

Parking - Good luck

Age - 21+

Food - None

Currency - Cash/Cards

Smoking - Outside

Hours - Varies by event

Other - Arrive early to fight for a seat and enjoy some drinks because the place becomes so crowed it's intolerable.