Hometown Memories: Sin City

After World War I, during the prohibition period, Americans started traveling to Montreal to drink freely, gamble, visit brothels and take part in its bustling and unrivaled (anywhere in North America at the time) nightlife. This earned Montreal the nickname ‘sin city’.

With its legal drinking age of 18 and erotic massage parlours and peep shows and sex shops and escort services and swinger bars and strip clubs galore, that reputation still holds today.

That being said, it is not uncommon to see this in Montreal:

You can have supper at the restaurant on the right, buy handmade soap on the left,
and then head upstairs to the strip club for adult entertainment.

Many of the adult entertainment businesses can be found in the core of the downtown area, co-existing with restaurants and movie theaters and cell phone companies and clothing shops and bookstores; their bold advertisements easily noticeable.

Things are different where I live now. We moved to Kingston in 2009, and I’ve yet to see anything like that. In fact, I had no idea where a ‘Gentleman’s Club’ (strip club) was in this city until I searched for one to put together this post.

This is how they advertise here:

A little more discreet in Kingston.
(This photo is not mine; it's from Google maps)

Quite the contrast, don’t you think?

I’m not particularly proud of my hometown's lack of discretion. In my opinion, strip clubs shouldn’t be that obvious in a location that is supposed to be ‘family friendly’. This is the business of consenting adults, and the prying eyes of children shouldn’t be exposed to it.

Sorry, Montreal, on this one you fail. Call me a prude if you like. [shrug]

Happy May, everyone!