For those who remember Nashville's "lower Broadway" of the 80's, all the spit and polish of the upgrades the politicians demanded in that part of the city still can't quite wash away the memory of what was. A few of the "honky-tonks" that bring in millions of tourists a year also remember when their neighbors were porn shops, peep booths and live shows behind smudged plexiglass.
In those days lower Broadway is what Printers Alley pretended to be. In that famous alley you could pay too much to watch a few good-looking strippers peel out of the expensive costumes, bumping and grinding in their g-strings. Or you could go a few blocks over and drop a few bucks to watch a girl a finger herself in a dark booth, or play with another girl, or even tickle your pickle through a well-placed hole in the glass. A block to the other side stood an old-style theater, converted to a porn house which played the latest feature in porn's golden age.
As the transition began from film to video, a new little gem opened just off Broadway. Taking advantage of the move to video tape, this place offered tiny viewing rooms where you could watch the flick of your choice. Notebooks at the front counter held the covers of the inventory, and you paged through till you found something that caught your eye. For 5 bucks or so you were directed to your own viewing space - something about the size of a closet with two theater chairs and a television set. It wasn't a bad arrangement in those pre-VHS porn rental days.
I had visited the place on a few occasions. In fact, I remember watching my first porn shot on video here. It was a European production called "Pleasure So Deep" with Barbara Moose and Dominque St. Clair. Fetching women indeed, but I digress.
