Downtown strip club should be more than a tease
Here comes another one of those tests that help determine just what kind of city we are.
The owners of Silk Exotic, a strip club on the northwest side of town, are asking again for a tavern license to put a strip club right Downtown at 730 N. Old World 3rd St. (former Velvet Room, Martini Mike's and, most recently, Rusty's Old 50.
They tried this a little over a year ago and they were turned down by city fathers. Lots of excuses and reasons, but the heart of the opposition was that people don't want a strip club Downtown.
Now we'll fight that battle again, and I, for one, hope the city fathers see the value of having half-naked girls dancing in our Downtown. I've been to dozens and dozens of big cities in this world, and I'm hard pressed to come up with one that doesn't have a strip club or two.
People point out, accurately, that many conventioneers like going to strip clubs. What happens at the convention stays at the convention. It's important to understand that a strip club is not a sex club. It's erotic dancers. Or exotic dancers.
I think that Visit Milwaukee (Milwaukee Convention and Visitors Bureau) and Spirit Milwaukee ought to get behind this effort and lobby on behalf of the strip club. Let's move Milwaukee a little closer to the current century and a little further away from our blue-nosed history.
For those who have good memories, the strip club would be located next door to the site of the old Princess Theater, the first adult movie theater in Milwaukee. So there.
Talkbacks
MRC58 | May 9, 2012 at 1:47 p.m. (report)
There's been a strip club downtown for years... and a lousy one at that -- Art's Performing Center. So, what's the big deal?
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High_Life_Man | May 8, 2012 at 9:27 p.m. (report)
When did Rusty's close?
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InTheView | May 8, 2012 at 8:48 p.m. (report)
I don't get it... I've seen more bare breasts on Water Street than I have at any strip club. The entertainment district is exactly where a venue like this belongs. Would they rather put them in a more residential neighborhood? Look, I can go anywhere to pay $14 for a bottle of High Life, but I'd rather do it someplace closer to home with bare naked ladies involved.
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