Commander Salamander

Illustration in black, white, and pink on a teal background shows a man in profile wearing sunglasses, a jacket, and a pink bow tie. Black text reads "Commander Salamander" above the image, and pink text below the image reads "Joe Commander."

Commander Salamander was a famous clothing store in Washington, DC, from 1979 until its closing in 2010. It stocked punk styles of clothing and pop culture knick knacks. This Georgetown institution even made it to the Urban Dictionary it was so popular.

But what about the name, Commander Salamander, exactly where did that come from? Although not confirmed as the inspiration, there was a very popular children's cartoon hosted by Captain Tugg which ran in the DC area in the 1960s on WTTG. Actor Lee Reynolds played Captain Tugg and a handful of other characters including one by the name of Commander Salamander.