Doc here, a man who some say once built an adult theater in the middle of a cornfield in Iowa. An otherworldly voice was heard coming from the corn... Build it, and they will come.
Another esteemed visitor recently hit Iowa, none other than senior Journal contributor, Raygun ! Raygun hit two different locations in this thing of ours, and has words and pics to back up his travelogue from 18 & Above in Clinton, IA, and TR Video in Davenport, IA.
Folks, pop open a Fresca (Hi Gemini!), and enjoy the wordsmithing of my good friend Raygun!
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Life on the Mississippi
Doc,
No, this isn't a Mark Twain story and I didn't make another trip to Hannibal, MO. Instead, I took a short road trip to visit two adult bookstores in Clinton and Davenport, Iowa.
First up is 18 & Above in the old downtown area of Clinton at 135 5th Ave S, within view of the bridge across the Mississippi and practically across the street from Clinton's finest building, Louis H. Sullivan’s Van Allen Department Store, a reminder of better days for this river town. There's a small store in front with an arcade and theater in back. Arcade admission is $8 for an all-day pass and they're open daily from 10am to 10pm except Sundays when the shop is closed.
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18 & Beyond
Clinton, IA |
The arcade has three private booths, four buddy booths, and four booths with gloryholes. There's an extensive selection of movies and even an option to view live models chaterbate-style. In addition, there's a 15-seat theater. The entire arcade is pretty dark, which I liked. It's a no-hassle kind of place where you can hang out all day or come and go as you please. I doubt they see much couple action, but I didn't ask, and you never know.  |
18 & Beyond
Clinton, IA |
My favorite off-beat feature was a bin of random stuff offered free for the taking: knickknacks, VHS tapes, and odd stuff no one seems to want, but as the sign says: "Take it if you can use it." |
18 & Beyond
Clinton, IA |
My second stop was T.R. Video on the northwest side of Davenport at 3727 Hickory Grove Rd. An all-day pass is $10 and good until closing as 12:30am, although Shirley the cashier said she didn't expect anyone to be there by then. |
TR Video
Davenport, IA |
T.R. Video is a two-story building with an adult store on the ground floor and arcade above. I was there once before, maybe 30 years ago, but it's been through a lot of changes since then. The arcade occupies only about half of the second floor. The front half seems to be an abandoned remodeling that would have added lots of small one-person video booths too small for any kind of action. I'm sure the regular patrons are relieved that never happened. |
TR Video
Davenport, IA |
As it is, the arcade has an open lounge area with large screen TV, 4 small booths, 5 larger booths labeled "theater" with a designated occupancy of two, and 4 unusual U-shaped booths.
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TR Video
Davenport, IA |
The U-shaped booths have a door at the top of one leg, a TV screen at the bottom of the U, and a bench at the end of the other leg. The seat and door are separated by a wall with a waist-high opening at the bottom. Basically, it's the biggest gloryhole you've ever seen. It's an odd arrangement, but it seems to be popular. |
TR Video
Davenport, IA |
Movies run continuously with only one movie playing in each booth and no choice of channels. The place was fairly busy early afternoon with about ten guys there during my visit. The woman working the counter told me the do get couples occasionally, but it's unpredictable.
There's a third store I had hoped to visit, but it was closed the day I was there. I'll have to save that for a future report.
Raygun
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Doc here again... Many thanks to Raygun for an outstanding two-fer of reports from the highways and bi-ways of Iowa. Keep the cards and letters coming in, sir!
I like the set-up at TR Video, and I think it has some great potential to be a cool destination in this thing of ours!
Thanks,
Doc
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