The Last Two Porn Theaters In LA

infopop · #1 31st August 2017, 06:21 PM

A cruiser shared with CFS the following story from the LA Times. It says a lot about the rise and decline of public sex in porn theaters, not mention visits to Studs and Tiki, the last two remaining porn theaters in LA.

With history, photos, and commentary it's well worth reading. You'll be taken from the height of porn theaters in the 1970s, "Deep Throat" and all, to the present day.

Here's just a couple excerpts. Follow the link and read for yourself.

The last (porn) picture shows: Once dotted with dozens of adult cinemas, L.A. now has only two

Quote:

...In 1979, there were an estimated 800 porn theaters across the United States. But video and streaming have rendered them obsolete. The website Cinema Treasures lists fewer than 35 places now operating as adult theaters in the U.S.

In the 1970s, Los Angeles teemed with dozens of porn theaters. Now only two remain: the Studs and the Tiki. They sit at opposite ends of Santa Monica Boulevard — the former in West Hollywood, the latter in East Hollywood, framing the city in an unseen porno-magnetic field. Both beckon with promises of titillation and, in the case of the Studs, a tag line that reads, “Come explore, relax, and take a load off.” ...

Among other things, Studs is seen as "A Smithsonian of porn," complete with a pedigree. More generally, there's something here in common between the older generation, my age and before, and at least a few younger folks now:

Quote:

...Moreover, for the LGBTQ community, gay porn houses became a kind of safe space.

“They weren’t just theater spaces,” says Mike Stabile, a spokesperson for the Free Speech Coalition, a trade association for the adult industry, and director of the documentary “Smut Capital of America.” “You could go in and have these experiences and they were anonymous.”

“Being a young gay man, it’s tremendously nerve-racking, but there was something about the theater,” he says, “that is closed off from the rest of the world.”

To some degree, this is a purpose the Studs still serves. But anonymity is no longer a primary reason patrons seek out the theater.

“I say, if you want to drink alcohol, there are liquor stores. You can drink in your house. So why are there bars?” asks Studs owner Max Cassing. “Well, people want an experience that is social.”

Cassing, a personable, soft-spoken man who was once a litigation attorney, inherited the theater as payment after a legal battle in 2006. Over time, he made upgrades and partitioned the building into multiplex. In the lobby while we talk, there are two television monitors playing: One displays a slideshow of well-endowed men on a loop. On the other is the Oprah Winfrey Network.

Cassing says people constantly ask him how he keeps the theater running. But even in the age of digital, he says, business is good.

The theater draws people who may not have access to the Internet or those concerned about online privacy, as well as young gay men just beginning to explore their sexuality. “We get a lift whenever the new semesters start,” Cassing says. “We get UCLA and USC, we get all the schools.” But it attracts other groups too.

“We have a dominatrix who comes in regularly with a man on a leash,” he says. “And she once asked everyone in the theater to spank him. It turned into theater.”...

There's less about Tiki here, other than a mention of the arrest of comedian Fred Willard here a few years ago and some description of the downscale vibe between a 99¢ store and a Oaxacan restaurant.

Thanks to the cruiser who shared these on the Sex Listings pages for Studs and Tiki.

Bob S. ~ Manager/Editor

Mojavebottom · #2 1st September 2017, 11:40 AM

So sad to see these physical presences go away. The same is true of the great drag clubs all over the country. Drag is a dying art form because the clubs are gone. Kink and fetish clubs struggle. Not all change is a good thing. All of these places served a purpose and clientele in need of a safe place to go to work out their kinks. I guess we are all now living in a virtual universe. A maze. Human contact not authorized. So sad.

jonn3 · #3 4th September 2017, 12:52 PM

I live in LA and have heard of both theaters for years - but have never been to either one.

The Tiki Theater would not be difficult to get to being in Hollywood - but that is where Fred Willard was busted for "indecent exposure" and much worse from everything I understand its main business is from crack addicts looking for air conditioning. Even the article says "The Tiki is empty when we arrive, but Smith nonetheless chooses to stand." - so the guy that did porn movies does not even want to sit in the seats in that theater!

The other theater, Studs, is supposed to be pretty good - clean and well run - primarily gay - but it is in West Hollywood which is a bitch to get to and would take 1 - 1.5 hours to get there. A few years ago I did try and go a couple of times - once hitting traffic so bad I gave up and another time seeing someone I knew from work on the street a couple of blocks away and chickening out. I have never heard of Studs having problems with the police which is nice - I often think for things like adult theaters and adult bookstores just the act of going inside should constitute consent to what you may or may not see happening.

The closest I ever got to a porn theater was a drive in just outside the city limits where I grew up. For years they would run a couple of family friendly films each year but made their money running porn. Always funny to see the brake lights blinking in a car then a few minutes later the car drive out - knowing they were done!

infopop · #4 5th September 2017, 02:33 PM

My sister's first husband, actually a born-again Pentecostal occasional preacher, worked for some time at the Josephine Theatre in San Antonio in the late 1970s when it showed X-rated movies.

I was a teenager at the time and didn't hear much about it. I understood that he worked in the box office and in the projection booth.

Looking back, I wonder if his religious background gave him insight into the Saturday night sinners, Sunday morning repenters who may have gone there. I only hope he didn't preach at the customers!

After it closed it was rehabbed and reopened as a live stage theatre.

Curiously enough, my mother used to drive right past the place every day on her route across town to and from work at Ft. Sam Houston. If anything, I think she found it amusing -- as I do.

~ Bob S.

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