Porn Shops NYC 1969

That was when NYC was actually fun. Who remembers the silver "curtain" at the Gaiety?

I did not frequent this scene in 1969, not until the middle 1970s did I partake of the pleasures of 8th Avenue. By that time, I think the large 42nd St. theatres had less gay scene, but the small ones on 8th had something for everyone. Of course the "straight" porno theatres had plenty of same sex jerking and sucking in the audience.

And then there were the baths, St. Mark's for one. And the other one somewhere in the midtown 30s, that had a major fire and guys were photographed standing on the sidewalk in towels.

I went into one of the quarter peep show establishments on 8th in the 70s. I went to the very back row of machines, put my quarter in, and was surprised ( no, shocked) at what I saw - a gay sex scene between what looked like an eight-year-old, and a boy who looked as if he had just reached puberty. Well, I thought it might be a trap, so I got my ass right out of there fast.

I always forget that the sixties were a pretty wild time in some places. Everyone always looked so buttoned-up and respectable in most of the media from that period.

It's a bit surprising to see men in suits and hats and ladies in bouffant hairdos and pearls casually walking by giant photos of naked gay whores.

I didn't start exploring my town's version of Bob's Used Books until the Eighties, and it was considerably less bold in advertising its wares. It just looked like a dingy used bookstore/convenience store. In fact you could probably go in and buy some smokes without even realizing it was a porn shop. You had to wander towards the back and uncover the books and mags to see the naked gay whores, which were also all bagged-up so you had to buy something to actually see the contents.

Behind the curtains at the back were the 25 cent peep booths. I was usually too intimidated by all the older guys hanging around in the back to spend much time there, but every once in awhile my hormones beat my nerves into submission and I'd manage to watch some hot porn scenes from beginning to end, with one foot on the door, while the trolls scratched on it from the other side trying to get in.

Then home video became a thing, followed quickly by the internet, and my porn viewing hobby didn't have to be quite so public any longer.

The low resolution kills everything.

Yeah - it's shocking how much porn was available on display. I remember the newstands in several subway systems as a small boy - out in front were hardcore porn mags - with some nipples barely covered.

Back then people may have tsk tsk'd, but seems like they minded their own business. Now there are too many morality police walking amongst us - although in retrospect, there really didn't need to have Hustler and Big Titty magazines out in front of a business.

But then again, Playboy seemed to be everywhere and I remember several men's restaurant bathrooms having pics of naked women on the walls.

R1 I was around for the waning days of The Gaiety in the early/mid nineties. What a combination of seedy, exhilarating and sad. I loved it.

I went to the Gaiety when I was a tourist in NYC. I considered it a landmark. The men were all bodybuilders, beautiful chests and asses, huge bushes, substantial heads on their cocks. One of them looked like the guy in R1s video, but with a thick mustache. I talked with him after his set. He was aspiring to dance in a Broadway show, but the lack of money forced his hand, and he chose to reveal his assets. I had a hundred dollars of mad money. I gave him a blow job in the back of the theatre. My whole mouth was tingling for hours afterward.

Back in the day when you could put your penis erection through a hole and have a mouth suck it with a faint bristly mustache feeling on the top of your shaft…

… or you could wait at the hole to do the sucking yourself.

Who was on the other side of the hole? Who knew? Could be the president of your company.

In the 70s me and my bestie from high school, cut school to sneak around Time Square and see all the pron. My friend was a model at the time and he literally got dry humped by some old guy when we were walking into one of those peep shows. But back then 2 16 year olds could walk into Howard Johnsons across the street and order martinis with no problem right after that happened.

[quote]Time Square

Oh, dear.