I haven’t yet been there, but regardless of the interior, I wonder about your criteria when it comes to late night venues, and in particular the notion of what brings “a certain sense of legitimacy to the nightlife in DC.” Legitimacy is quality and style, not exclusivity. The Nazi Party and Al Qaeda entail membership, but that doesn’t confer legitimacy on either. Great venues create extraordinary ambience through context and, to some degree, social engineering. They are exclusionary based upon a standard of behavior, not net worth. “Clubbing” in a number of large cities for over 2 decades, including NYC, Tokyo and Hong Kong, I’ve noticed a common thread through all of the truly great establishments: Admission was almost always a function of style and a spirit of inclusive fun. More often than not, these locations were filled with individuals who couldn’t remotely afford a private establishment, but were intriguing, interesting people. In other words, individuals with individuality. Imposing a high financial barrier to participation only ensures the attendance of a very narrow slice of society. Since we all know that money doesn’t buy class (rather, as A.Onassis once said, it only buys a tolerance of the lack of it), clubs that try to establish appeal by levying a high tarriff are only making it that much harder for themselves to establish a truly unique, first-class ambience. Only authenticity has any real staying power.