When the iconic Hotel Washington burned, a “gay mecca” crumbled. That’s what the late Richard Wagner called the West Washington Avenue complex in his 2020 book “Coming Out, Moving Forward: Wisconsin’s Recent Gay History.” The historic 1885 brick hotel became home to a bevy of safe spaces after then-25-year-old Rodney Scheel purchased it in 1975. Over the years they included Rod’s, a gay bar known for its Levi’s and leather events; Café Palms, with its $3.35 pita sandwiches stuffed with sprouts, black olives and herbed cream cheese; Club de Wash, a concert venue featuring some of the best live music in the city — Smashing Pumpkins, Dave Matthews Band, The Replacements; The New Bar, a teen-friendly, ’80s-style dance club with a resident DJ; The Barber’s Closet, a Prohibition speakeasy-turned-basement bar accessible through a hidden door (its crumpled awning dripping with firehose icicles can be spotted amid the still-smoking ruins in this John H. Driscoll photo, taken the morning of the fire on Feb. 18, 1996 — 28 years ago this month).