For almost 20 years, the Hustler Store has stood proudly on the Sunset Strip, a testament to pornography's successful infiltration of the mainstream. And yet, even on the Sunset Strip, a street long known for sleaze and debauchery, the Hustler Store will soon succumb to the wrecking ball, replaced by a celebrity vanity project devoted to high class and clean living.
Voice of the common people Gwyneth Paltrow bought up the porn shop last year, announcing plans to build a chapter of the super swanky, ultra-private Arts Club in its place. It's $2,000 to become a member and cussing is strictly prohibited (fun?). And so poetry readings, fine dining, and backgammon will soon replace Penthouse Letters, edible underwear, and erotic boardgames.
But what about the Porn Block of Fame? More than a dozen pornographic players have graced the cement out front with their handprints, Chinese Theatre style. Since swearing isn't even allowed on Arts Club property, it stands to reason that a monument to the luminaries of the pornographic arts doesn't have a place there either. Will yet another piece of LA history fall prey to modern development?
We're happy to report that it won't. According to Wehoville, the Porn Block of Fame will be getting a new home, right in front of Hustler's brand new digs on Hollywood Boulevard, perhaps the most appropriate street in America for a Hustler Store. The cement handprints of Jenna Jameson, Ron Jeremy, and Larry Flynt himself will be front and center on the boulevard, sharing the terra cotta with Walk of Fame stars like Frank Sinatra and Gene Autry.
This is perhaps a good time to bring up an important Los Angeles civic issue. There are actually two porn blocks of fame in the region. The other, devoted mostly to adult film stars from the 1970s, sits in front of the Studs Theatre on Santa Monica Boulevard. Perhaps this recent move could generate the public interest necessary to consolidate the monuments so that those on a pornographic pilgrimage don't have to waste their time commuting between the two. Especially with the 2024 Olympics on the line, LA cannot afford to move slowly on this. Unify the porn, County Supes!
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