No more “LIVE, LIVE LIVE, NUDE, NUDES”

Devastating news just hit the area surrounding the Los Angeles International Airport. The Century Lounge strip club, famous for its enormous sign complete with pulsating red and orange lights that read “LIVE, LIVE LIVE, NUDE, NUDES”, has been shut down after the lease recently expired, as cited in the LA Times.

The strip club advertising “Nude Nude Nudes” near Los Angeles International Airport, which has titillated, distracted or disgusted tourists driving on Century Boulevard for decades, has been shut down. It will be turned into a parking lot.

The Century Lounge, which started as a 24-hour bowling alley in the 1950s then known as Carolina Pines – will be demolished in October with plans to turn the property into a parking lot.

In 1977, Carolina Pines made the impressive switch from full-time bowling alley to fully nude strip joint, known as Carolina West. In 1998, the club became a community controversy after they unveiled an 18-foot sign with a clear and concise message, “VAGINA’S ‘R US”.

Since then, the non-vagina fans have been less than impressed.

Gateway to LA, the business improvement district covering the LAX neighborhood, has been hoping for the closure of the strip club since the business district was created in 1998. Property owners near the airport were dismayed that the strip club was giving the neighborhood a seedy image, making it hard to attract some groups from having meetings and conventions at airport-area hotels.

“People have the right to be who they are, but for God’s sake, does it have to be in everyone’s face?” said LA City Councilman Bill Rosendahl. “‘Nude, Nude Nudes” constantly blasting in your face, It’s in your face. You can’t avoid it. It affects your sensibilities and your values. It’s basically an insult to the community.”

Community business leaders eye the closing as a victory, a way to establish more credibility in highly visible part of town.

Not all community members are sold on the idea.

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