sometimes I miss the old days

[alpharise 413]

I have been a patron of strip clubs for many years. I am soon to be 57 years old and i have many good memories. I still like to go when I can but generally i have a lack of time. I rarely can go on a Friday or Saturday night, and when possible I will take in a matinee.

There was one girl at Barbarellas circa 1992, slim spinner type long long black hair past her butt, she was part native, always had a good conversation and she seemed genuinnely interested in talking. I spent many an hour in the champagne room with her. This was the old champpagne room next to the washroom, before they put in the bigger room on the side. I can't remember that girls name, and wonder what ever happened to her, although I am sure she is long out of the business.

I have good memories of Fanny's on Bank, and what was the one on Somerset that burnt down? (the original Barbarellas maybe?).

I never went to strip clubs until I lived in the Soo in the early 80's when I became a regular. When I moved to this region in 1986, I checked out all of the Ottawa and Hull clubs, though I never spent much time on the Quebec side. I still like the Playmate, Bare Fax and Barbarellas.

This summer I have travelled alot in Ontario, and I like to check out the clubs every where I go! Here are the last 5 clubs I have visted with my brief comment:

Bare Fax (yesterday aft) - dissapointing I had no dances

Club Atlantis (Toronto airport) - not bad - you are harrassed for dances but hold your ground, I has great dances with a hardbody spinner girl

Club Cabaret (Belleville) - the girls don't solicit and i had no dances. The was some good talent howver, and i gave a young dancer a ride to her hotel. (She said I looked trustworthy)

Playmate - on a Sunday afternoon - thankyou Ashley, you always make it worthwhile

GoGo Club (Belleville) - I went there several times this summer. There is some good talent there, not alot of mileage in the CR but the girls will talk to you

Thats it for now. To all the young ladies, i love you and thanks for every memory!

[MightyPen 67414]

That was a time where the only way one could find an SP was through a newspaper, a magazine or word of mouth and it was a roll of the dice whether you would be happy with your experience.

That's interesting. I've been watching an old TV show set in the 70s (the UK's "The Sweeney") and it's got me thinking more than usual about the pervasive differences technology has made to society in the last 40 years.

 

I remember in the late 80s and early 90s when I first started out (and I was the very definition of naive), the only source of SP or MA information was ads in the back of The Sun or a more limited list in the Citizen classifieds. Plus, there was just the beginning of desktop publishing and there were some really cheap home-printed "local sex industry" guides on the shadier news stands.

 

But... does anyone know how this worked in, say, the 70s? How would yo go about finding an SP... did people still consult classifieds in newspapers, and look under "Escorts" in the yellow pages? Was it all just word of mouth? Did you go to strip clubs to get close to the information? Heck, I don't even know what the laws were then.

[whiteman 14028]

But... does anyone know how this worked in, say, the 70s? How would yo go about finding an SP... did people still consult classifieds in newspapers, and look under "Escorts" in the yellow pages? Was it all just word of mouth? Did you go to strip clubs to get close to the information? Heck, I don't even know what the laws were then.

This is a bit before my time too, but from what I heard, there were two major ways back in the 70's. If you didn't want to go through a newspaper blindly, then you could either: (1) go to a hotel bar, and strike up a conversation with an extremely well-dressed lady sitting in a corner, or (2) hit the streets. Both forms of window shopping are now gone, and the newspaper thing is on its deathbed (though it's been replaced almost entirely by the Internet classified instead).

[Jack2000 3446]

I remember as a kid at the Ex with my Dad, staring at girls in the girly' shows they had back then, they had a catwalk outside where the girls would strut their stuff. Also, driving by where the Imperial Theatre on Bank where Barrymore's is they had huge posters of dancers, I was fascinated,and in Westboro there was Pandora's box I remember standing outside , just aching for a peek at one of the girls. When I reached drinking age my first stop was Spot 844 on Somerset, I could not freakin believe how good it was and I've never looked back. That place became Valentino's , a great spot, there was another place in Westboro in the 80's and one in a basement on Bank St. in the Glebe and there was one off St. Laurent in behind Burger King, can't remember the names ..and there was the Lido on the strip in Hull, and I was there for the opening of Barbarella's on Bank and Gilmour in 89...the same waitress is still working there..

 

To the girls; thanks for all the hugs n kisses and laughs over the years !

[Peachka 4334]

Also, driving by where the Imperial Theatre on Bank where Barrymore's is they had huge posters of dancers, I was fascinated,and in Westboro there was Pandora's box I remember standing outside , just aching for a peek at one of the girls. When I reached drinking age my first stop was Spot 844 on Somerset, I could not freakin believe how good it was and I've never looked back. That place became Valentino's , a great spot, there was another place in Westboro in the 80's (Hubba Bubba's) and one in a basement on Bank St. (Rick's Place) in the Glebe and there was one off St. Laurent in behind Burger King, (The Den) can't remember the names ..and there was the Lido on the strip in Hull, and I was there for the opening of Barbarella's on Bank and Gilmour in 89...the same waitress is still working there..

 

To the girls; thanks for all the hugs n kisses and laughs over the years !

 

Pandora's Box was on Bank st. where the Imperial was.

[bluethunder01 1111]

I remember as a kid at the Ex with my Dad, staring at girls in the girly' shows they had back then, they had a catwalk outside where the girls would strut their stuff. Also, driving by where the Imperial Theatre on Bank where Barrymore's is they had huge posters of dancers, I was fascinated,and in Westboro there was Pandora's box I remember standing outside , just aching for a peek at one of the girls. When I reached drinking age my first stop was Spot 844 on Somerset, I could not freakin believe how good it was and I've never looked back. That place became Valentino's , a great spot, there was another place in Westboro in the 80's and one in a basement on Bank St. in the Glebe and there was one off St. Laurent in behind Burger King, can't remember the names ..and there was the Lido on the strip in Hull, and I was there for the opening of Barbarella's on Bank and Gilmour in 89...the same waitress is still working there..

 

To the girls; thanks for all the hugs n kisses and laughs over the years !

 

My dad was a regular at Hubba Bubba's. It closed before I could pay it a visit.

 

Rick's Place would later change its name to Cheeks Cabaret. It was a Silver Dollar level club.

[yak2432 1499]

This is a bit before my time too, but from what I heard, there were two major ways back in the 70's. If you didn't want to go through a newspaper blindly, then you could either: (1) go to a hotel bar, and strike up a conversation with an extremely well-dressed lady sitting in a corner, or (2) hit the streets. Both forms of window shopping are now gone, and the newspaper thing is on its deathbed (though it's been replaced almost entirely by the Internet classified instead).

 

When I first started working downtown in the early 80's and saw SP's going into hotels a buddy of mine's extremely naive sister asked me how these guys met these women and I showed her the Yellow Pages and said "Do you think Brown Sugar Escorts are dates for the NAC?" The bar in the old Beacon Arms Hotel (Broken Arms for you old timers) was a notorious hooker hangout. Word of mouth travelled through downtown and that's where the out of towners went.

[whiteman 14028]

My dad was a regular at Hubba Bubba's. It closed before I could pay it a visit.

 

Rick's Place would later change its name to Cheeks Cabaret. It was a Silver Dollar level club.

Cheeks Cabaret was the first place I ever went to!

[bluethunder01 1111]

Cheeks Cabaret was the first place I ever went to!

 

LOL Same here! Actually, it was the first place in Ottawa I visited. Lido in Hull was the first club overall.

 

The women at Cheeks were all-natural at least. Decent local club.

 

The next club I went to check out was the original Barb's and was floored. A stage that looks like a runway? Dozens of perfect women? Music videos playing behind the performances? Not one seat to be found? It was perfection. I doubt Montreal had anything to match it. It was the days when men would go to the clubs to be teased. Too bad the city had a problem with Barbarella's on Bank Street.

 

Only problem with Barb's was that Pierre guy. He hated college kids. He would torment me with his "rules" every visit.

[whiteman 14028]

LOL Same here! Actually, it was the first place in Ottawa I visited. Lido in Hull was the first club overall.

 

The women at Cheeks were all-natural at least. Decent local club.

I went to Cheeks with a friend of mine from a summer job we had together. We were both interested in going to our first ever stripclub. We were aware of the bigger clubs like Fanny's, but we were both a bundle of nerves ("What if our folks see us there?", as if they're just randomly going to be in that part of town :icon_lol:). So we decided to go to a lesser known club. I looked up the phone book (because that's what you did back then), and found this place.

 

We two later went to Fanny's and other places too, but I always found myself going back to Cheeks, it felt like home to me. I had my first ever BBBJ there, and then later my first ever FS, with various different dancers there.

 

The next club I went to check out was the original Barb's and was floored. A stage that looks like a runway? Dozens of perfect women? Music videos playing behind the performances? Not one seat to be found? It was perfection. I doubt Montreal had anything to match it. It was the days when men would go to the clubs to be teased. Too bad the city had a problem with Barbarella's on Bank Street.

 

Only problem with Barb's was that Pierre guy. He hated college kids. He would torment me with his "rules" every visit.

Was the original Barb's, previously Fanny's? I'm having trouble remembering the history of Barb's.

[PistolPete 61421]

Fanny's,Cheeks,Valentino's, Gypsy Rose, Barbs, Club 61 were all clubs I had frequent at times. Good times, good memories back then always enjoyed the "features" the clubs had back then too :)

[ngtime 560]

There was some club outside of Embrun on the way to Casselman. Goes back at least 12-15 years ago, Pretty much FS. It's gone. There were also two clubs in L'orignal, wonder if either one is left.

[someguy 67067]

I'm not sure, but wasn't there a place called "The Body Shop" on Richmond rd. or Wellington st. I think it was a strip joint, but I was a kid at that time so I could not see it.

But I remember in Gatineau, club UltraSex and club 77.

And I enjoyed going to Fanny's on Bank street to see the features. it was only 3 blocks from work. Rick's place was close to the University so I went there a few times. Valentino's on somerset was a great place also. Back then 5 dollar dances. And the girls could dance, not just strut there stuff.

[bluethunder01 1111]

Was the original Barb's, previously Fanny's? I'm having trouble remembering the history of Barb's.

 

No, Fanny's and the original Barb's were separate places. I don't know when Fanny's or Barbarella's opened. Fanny's existed in the mid-1980's as I frequented the arcades of Bank Street every Saturday, such as Imperial Arcade and saw the signage

 

Barb's probably opened in 1989 or 1990 but only existed for a year or so as I'm guessing the city didn't like such an exquisite looking club "dirtying the minds of kids".

 

In late 1990, the Barb's people opened a 2nd club called Sirens next door to it. It only lasted a month until the city shut it down as well. So, at one point there were 3 clubs on one block plus Barrymore's, a pool hall and the Imperial Arcade. The big winner was Fanny's, who took in all the business and thrived for a good 5 years. I went to Fanny's from 1991-95.

 

Additional Comments:

I'm not sure, but wasn't there a place called "The Body Shop" on Richmond rd. or Wellington st. I think it was a strip joint, but I was a kid at that time so I could not see it.

 

I lived in that area when I was a kid (1971-1989) and it wasn't a gentleman's club. No way would they have a place like that near an elementary school and a church and a monastery nearby next to a public school.

[r__d 12698]

 

Additional Comments:

 

 

I lived in that area when I was a kid (1971-1989) and it wasn't a gentleman's club. No way would they have a place like that near an elementary school and a church and a monastery nearby next to a public school.

 

Not to be argumentative here, but I do have a vague recollection of something called "The Body Shop" on Richmond Rd. along what would now be the prime Westboro commercial area, west of Churchill. This would have been, I think, back in the 70s.

 

It could have been a 'massage parlour', but I'm pretty sure it was a 'cabaret' of some kind.

[whiteman 14028]

Not to be argumentative here, but I do have a vague recollection of something called "The Body Shop" on Richmond Rd. along what would now be the prime Westboro commercial area, west of Churchill. This would have been, I think, back in the 70s.

 

It could have been a 'massage parlour', but I'm pretty sure it was a 'cabaret' of some kind.

There were plenty of massage parlours along and near this residential strip of road, next to schools and churches. I recall that there was also a pretty big stripclub which burned down one time which was on this road. What was the name of that club, it's on the tip of my tongue? Though, I don't think it was called The Body Shop.

 

There were so many massage parlours on this road (to this day), that police could just set up a permanent outpost here to bust them down. After taking one down, another one would pop up, often in the exact same place a few months later!

[Jack2000 3446]

The Bodee Shop at 371 Richmond Rd, apparently Ottawa's last Burlesque theatre, that's the place I was standing outside as a kid, debating if I should just run inside for a quick peek...google the name for some interesting links, I also found this link to what appears to be a 'thesis' done on Ottawa strip joints....much props !

http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk2/ftp02/NQ52315.pdf

[Bear194 120]

There were plenty of massage parlours along and near this residential strip of road, next to schools and churches. I recall that there was also a pretty big stripclub which burned down one time which was on this road. What was the name of that club, it's on the tip of my tongue? Though, I don't think it was called The Body Shop.

 

There were so many massage parlours on this road (to this day), that police could just set up a permanent outpost here to bust them down. After taking one down, another one would pop up, often in the exact same place a few months later!

 

I believe the one that burnt down was called Haba Babas - too bad Westboro went so upscale.

[lakeranger 944]

So much has changed....headliners, stage shows and $5 table dances....all but distant memories. I've had this discussion a couple of times with club owners, patrons and a couple of past and present dancers. Are SC's better today than back in the day? I think it would depend upon who you talk to and from which perspective your comparing things.

 

My introduction to strip clubs began in the late 70's/early 80's in Eastern Ontario and Western Quebec. I still get a warm fuzzy feeling every time I drive past the former Lakeview Manor site beside the Kingston penitentiary or hear Rod Stewart's "Do ya think I'm sexy". My melancholy look back at SC's of old is rooted in the memories of the experiences that I've shared with good friends and sometimes complete strangers at some of these iconic venues. On a purely personal level that's what I miss.

 

From my perspective, I feel that the transition from table dances to private lap dances actually hurt the SC industry and more significantly the respect that is given to dancers. It has diminished the significance of real talent and beauty in favour of what a dancer is willing to accept or tolerate in private. I know that there's more than a few dancers that don't like to be groped and handled. It's blurred the lines between a being an exotic dancer or performer vs. a sex worker. It has changed the faces and character of typical SC patrons. Patrons used to talk about the show and how smoking hot a dancer is, now they talk about how much mileage they got.

 

Was it better back in the day than it is now? That's debatable. That's like trying to debate who was the best hockey player....Gretzkey vs. Orr. It can't be done, there's too many variables to consider. It's Orr by the way but I digress. What is clear however is that there will always be a sector of society where men are willing to pay hard earned money to be in the company of beautiful naked women. How and where that will take place will continue to evolve in large part with the positive influences from sources like CERB I might add. Keep up the good work!!!

[TheRiddlerMan 872]

I find that with strip clubs there's a clear division between types of clients. You have the groups that come in, drinking beer and laughing their way through the stage dances. They ogle the girls and talk to them, and might or might not be convinced to go upstairs with one, but that's not the primary reason they go. Those are the people who probably also miss the good old days.

 

Then there are the ones who come in alone, sit by themselves and are looking for a private dance as soon as possible. For them the stage dances are at best an advertisement for who to go somewhere private with. The club is just a means to an end.

 

I fall into the latter group. I don't drink, don't like loud groups of people of either gender and generally am bored with the stage dances (with the occasional exception, when the stripper actually seems to be enjoying herself). I'm there for the private dances, and that's it. The sooner I find what I'm looking for, the sooner I'm out the door. For me, the way things are now is just fine.

 

It's funny though - the first group makes more money for the club, and people like me are the bread and butter for the dancers. I suppose everyone is making money or it wouldn't work, heh.

[NotchJohnson 214134]

Times have changed, in my early years as a SC patron I was anxious to get in and stay for the night get a few girls to dance on their portable "stool/stage"

for $5 and leave late at night. Now I visit the SC in the afternoon, find 1-2 girls that I like go in the CR and stay for a few songs and go home.

[dazedandconfused75 455]

I'm a baby compared to most of you it seems (Only 39) there was only Table Dances and CR's when I was a teenager (though no touching in the CR at all) ... I lived in Russell I know there was a Strip Club outside of Embrun but I never went to it... but I know my best friend lost his Virginity there ... so I'm guessing it had high mileage even then :P

 

There was a club in Carlsbad Springs but I never went to that either (I worked at the Gas Station Across the street though, used to bring the girls Pizza and stare at the ground ... oh the innocence of youth...).

 

The first club I went to when I was 19 .. (19 years ago) was the Barefax... it was my birthday my friends bought me a CR dance from a Dancer called Mercedes, I remember they had TV's in the CRs and the CR was on the first floor not the second (I didn't go up any stairs) and I she had to take me by the hand to get me there, and even then she got upset because I watched the TV not her, and then she got upset I wouldn't look at her body when she turned the TV off...

 

Not much has really changed ... I go to the club ... I sit by myself, I order 1-2 drinks for the benefit of the club, I don't really watch the stage shows, I watch the TV, I tend to watch how the Dancers treat the people they are talking too when looking for a girl who likes to talk and seems genuine ... I tend to avoid Dancers with names like CoCo, Mercedes, Candy type names (No offense to ANY dancers out there with those names, just I prefer girls who choose names that seem Genuine ... it sells the fantasy for me)

 

Was it better before or now ... I'm not sure we always ALWAYS look at the past with Rose colored glasses... people who looked for Mileage now still looked for Mileage 19 years ago (Hence my friend)...

 

Its 19 years later and I still keep my hands to myself for the most part unless the dancer gets my hands involved herself, and I still tend to watch their faces more than their bodies...

 

I do miss the stage show though ... I remember some stage shows when I was in my early twenties ... we didn't go often to the Fax (normally I would get suckered by being told we were going to Zaphods but when they came for cover charge my buddies were "If I'm paying cover I'm seeing Boobs" and off to the fax we went) Anyway there was some awesome stage shows where girls had actual routines and got the crowd involved with clapping to the music, or high energetic shows ... there are still some dancers that have some great shows but most of them are just more of a advertisement.

 

What I like more now is when the Girls come and sit and chat, and flirt... I'm sure they did it back then too but as a teenager I was looking for different things.

[inti-mate 3454]

good summary Riddler. I think I'm in the second group as well.

 

There are really classy ladies like Malena at Barbs that make you feel like a million bucks without having to do much besides be who they are.

 

Then there are hot and wild encounters where you walk out knees shaking and feeling like you met an angel and got hit by lightening.

 

:) like the internet everything is there....