Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
SEX SHOPS
What Las Vegas shopping guide would be complete without the sex shops? Yes,
they sell sex here—well, the concept of it, anyway. (Prostitution isn't legal in Clark
County.) And they also sell sex accoutrements—lots of them.
The largest chain in town, with five locations, is
The Adult Superstore
(3850
W. Tropicana Ave.;
%
702/798-0144; daily 24 hr.).
They sell the fairly standard
selections of pleasuring devices, in addition to gags (as in jokes), clothing, DVDs,
user-friendly dolls, and pasta that resembles different body parts. Clean and large,
it's less creepy than your standard adult joint but still has that awful fluorescent
lighting; straight, low aisles; and a slight smell of bleach, wafting in from the
“arcade” next door.
Déjà Vu Love Boutique
5
(3275 Industrial Rd.;
%
702/731-5655; www.
dejavu.com; daily 10am-4am)
offers a much different, more comfortable shop-
ping experience. For one thing, carpet works wonders within a sex shop. So do
display cases that vary in size, color on the walls, and outgoing and friendly sales-
women. With lotions and potions, salves and ointments, there's a little bit of
everything here—bustiers, T-shirts, books, gag balls, and clamps. Though if you're
looking for something fairly standard, the prices are high (packages of 12 Trojan
condoms go for $20 and up). It's like an X-rated Spencer Gifts, with more class
and without the mall. Located next to Déjà vu strip club, whose motto is “1,000s
of beautiful girls and three ugly ones,” this is a good place to catch dancers when
they're not working. They need toys, too.
Paradise Electro Stimulators
5
(1509 W. Oakey Blvd.;
%
702/214-2851;
www.peselectro.com; Mon-Fri 10am-7pm, Sat noon-5pm)
is a small, nondescript
shop within a Downtown strip mall. In fact, it's so nondescript it almost screams
“beard!” Walk through the reflective doors into the front office where you must
Historic Preservation
In this town, implosion is generally the rule when it comes to history, because, if
you have the money, it's often easier to start fresh than to refurbish.
Holsum Lofts
(241 W. Charleston Blvd.;
%
702/222-3022; www.holsumlofts.com; store days and
hours vary)
is the exception. This project is the first evidence of new Vegas embrac-
ing old Vegas. A bread factory operated here starting in 1954. The carb-creator
actually perfumed the area with fresh bread smells, and the original motto, “400
miles fresher,” alluded to the distance that other bread traveled when imported
from Phoenix and Los Angeles. (Later, the slogan was altered to “hours fresher.”)
It changed hands over the years, from one bread maker to the next, until 2004,
when the renovated property reopened as Holsum Lofts. Though it still has original
signage and integrity, it's now filled with gallery spaces and shops. From the sassy
stationary boutique “Paper Doll” (which sells everything from pirate stationery to
mini fortune-telling devices to locally made T-shirts and other unique trinkets) to
ChefLive, a live cooking show, to the decor of Home Expressions, there's a variety
of finds all under the roof of a Las Vegas anomaly. To read more about the gallery
scene here and in other areas of Downtown Vegas, go to p. 139.
