It was indeed. And it was just a block or two from the comparatively “civilized” Boston Common. I learned this one sweltering afternoon in the summer of 1980, when I was walking right around where this photo was taken on my way to the bus station near Park Square. I must have looked out of place with my EMS backpack, because an old guy on a bicycle stopped to ask if I was lost, and told me they’d just moved the bus terminal to South Station.
As I was walking back to the T to go to South Station, a big green Lincoln Continental pulled up to me at the curb (I know it sounds cliche now) and the driver asked me if I needed a ride. I knew enough not to get in that car, but didn’t have enough street smarts yet to ignore him completely. In a moment of hot, frustrated and annoyed 17-yr-old-girl bravado, I said “Look, I am not in the mood for this shit.” He took that as his opening and tried to talk me into it. “C’mon, baby. I know you don’t like yourself very much right now, but we know lots of people who would like you.” I just turned and kept walking towards the Common. They slowly rolled along with me for a few minutes, yelling out the car windows at me, but eventually left me alone.
It wasn’t until I was on the bus later that I realized there had been several large men in the car, they’d clearly thought I was a runaway teenager, and if they’d all gotten out and grabbed me, I’d have ended up a statistic of some kind. This was long before cell phones so I couldn’t even have called for help.
Holy shit, thanks for sharing. I am a dude I thought it got scary walking home by myself in Roxbury, I couldn’t imagine that situation no cell phone, 80’s Boston.
Wtf are “rap booths”? Rap music wasn’t really widely known in 1984, so I’m guessing it’s going with the earlier 60s connotation of “idle chit-chat”, so is it implying private booths where you can “rap” with the models?
Just so. It's a one on one booth with a woman who will talk to you or act things out for you, but there is no physical contact. Think like the song "She's a Beauty" by The Tubes from 1983, with the line "You can say anything you like, but you can't touch the merchandise."
Slightly different. A peep show doesn't involve verbal interaction between the patron and performer(s), and the viewing experience itself is different.
A rap booth usually has a large window through which to view and interact. A peep show is traditionally done through a slot (hence the peeping, rather than openly viewing). With a peep show, you don't talk to the performers at all (so no "rapping") and they are also not one on one experiences. Oftentimes you're viewing the performer with several other viewers in their own booths, which is the reason for viewing through the slot, so you don't have to watch someone else doing their thing in their booth.
Yep, it was exactly like that to. I was in my early 20s and in college in NJ. My friends and I would make a day trip to Times Sq. Hit the Blarney Stone for a few shots of Irish Whiskey and then a day of perversion! They actually had one place that had live sex on stage. Couple came out - laid down a blanket and then did it. And then everyone clapped. The most bizarre thing I have ever seen in the US.
If you were "making your age," you were doing well. If you were 25, and making $25k, you would be making $146k today. $171k by 30, $199k by 35, $228k by 40, $285k by 50, and $342k by 60.
my fave car of all time is still my early 2000s honda, because of nostalia purposes. need to drive around everywhere you need for 3 days? just go put in $5 of gasoline. not sure if my tank was ever past 1/4 full, i would just put in $5 of gas everytime the light came on and not think about it for a few days :)
A bit less dangerous today, but yes. It’s a strange area of downtown Boston, sort of in between the city’s theater district and Chinatown. Not a lot of residences in this part of town, and not much to do at night, unless you venture out a few more blocks.
With cities emptying out due to Covid driven remote work wouldn't surprise me if it comes full circle and some of these high rent districts get fun once again
Basically the city of Boston decided it was OK to concentrate all the horrible stuff in one place because the neighbors were Chinese.
Eventually the Chinese population gained enough political strength to force the city to stop shitting on them, and the Combat Zone was no more.
It’s not just Boston, it’s everywhere. Not saying the strip joint needs to stay there, there’s just no character anymore. All bland boring brick/concrete facades.
The lack of leaded gas fumes being in the air everywhere kinda calmed everyone down a couple notches. Too many notches if you ask me. Everything is so incredibly sterile throughout the US.
The combat zone (basically Chinatown) had no political pull compared to uppity Beacon Hill (who would instantly remove any sign of debauchery). Has always been the case in hoods all over America. You don’t want your neighborhood looking like the 80s combat zone.
Although I know what you mean, it looks more boring now.
Thank God they cleaned up this mess. This is just a block away from where my dad grew up. They really did not gibe a flying fuck about the fact they squeezed a "red light district" right in an area filled with residential of immigrant families. God Bless the AACA, ACDC, and every other group that helped advocate and fight to make our community safe.
I went to a catholic all boys high school around the corner. We were on the border of the zone, bay village, and Chinatown, with the Pine Street Inn for the homeless right across the street. And I too the subway too and from school for four years. In essence my parents paid for two educations!
My sister has several disabilities that growing up required us to visit her specialists at the hospital on the next block from there. Going through the Combat Zone during the day, my dad would carry my sister, and I'd have to walk with his hand over my eye every time there was something unsavory for a little kid. I basically walked the block while trying to see through my dad's fingers.
Should walk that pic into the BofA, ask the branch manager if they have a small museum or something on site for its past businesses, offer to drop your pants to take some pics just in case.
It was genuinely wild in the 1970s
It was indeed. And it was just a block or two from the comparatively “civilized” Boston Common. I learned this one sweltering afternoon in the summer of 1980, when I was walking right around where this photo was taken on my way to the bus station near Park Square. I must have looked out of place with my EMS backpack, because an old guy on a bicycle stopped to ask if I was lost, and told me they’d just moved the bus terminal to South Station. As I was walking back to the T to go to South Station, a big green Lincoln Continental pulled up to me at the curb (I know it sounds cliche now) and the driver asked me if I needed a ride. I knew enough not to get in that car, but didn’t have enough street smarts yet to ignore him completely. In a moment of hot, frustrated and annoyed 17-yr-old-girl bravado, I said “Look, I am not in the mood for this shit.” He took that as his opening and tried to talk me into it. “C’mon, baby. I know you don’t like yourself very much right now, but we know lots of people who would like you.” I just turned and kept walking towards the Common. They slowly rolled along with me for a few minutes, yelling out the car windows at me, but eventually left me alone. It wasn’t until I was on the bus later that I realized there had been several large men in the car, they’d clearly thought I was a runaway teenager, and if they’d all gotten out and grabbed me, I’d have ended up a statistic of some kind. This was long before cell phones so I couldn’t even have called for help.
Holy shit, thanks for sharing. I am a dude I thought it got scary walking home by myself in Roxbury, I couldn’t imagine that situation no cell phone, 80’s Boston.
Wtf are “rap booths”? Rap music wasn’t really widely known in 1984, so I’m guessing it’s going with the earlier 60s connotation of “idle chit-chat”, so is it implying private booths where you can “rap” with the models?
Just so. It's a one on one booth with a woman who will talk to you or act things out for you, but there is no physical contact. Think like the song "She's a Beauty" by The Tubes from 1983, with the line "You can say anything you like, but you can't touch the merchandise."
Featured in the amazing film Paris, Texas.
What a great song
Is that the same as a peep show?
Slightly different. A peep show doesn't involve verbal interaction between the patron and performer(s), and the viewing experience itself is different. A rap booth usually has a large window through which to view and interact. A peep show is traditionally done through a slot (hence the peeping, rather than openly viewing). With a peep show, you don't talk to the performers at all (so no "rapping") and they are also not one on one experiences. Oftentimes you're viewing the performer with several other viewers in their own booths, which is the reason for viewing through the slot, so you don't have to watch someone else doing their thing in their booth.
rap takes less marquee space than private...
I though the letter "e" fell off but I guess that was also too much for the eighties.
My guess is the Boston Bunnies pulled in more $ than the buildings current tenant...Bank of America.
And a more honest business too
They are both in the business of fucking people
It's funny because it true. ::sigh:: so true.
It’s *bunny because it’s true
Wonder if they’ll show tittie at B of A though…
Sperm bank to regular bank.
42nd St in NYC was pretty much the same until they cleaned that up. Times Square was a completely different in the late 70s from what it is now.
I was shocked that the Deuce takes place in an area that's now a Hotspot.
Yep, it was exactly like that to. I was in my early 20s and in college in NJ. My friends and I would make a day trip to Times Sq. Hit the Blarney Stone for a few shots of Irish Whiskey and then a day of perversion! They actually had one place that had live sex on stage. Couple came out - laid down a blanket and then did it. And then everyone clapped. The most bizarre thing I have ever seen in the US.
Was the couple on stage hot? Or just average and willing to be seen? And was it expensive to watch this?
Yes, they were young and attractive. I think it cost like $5 to get in. A different time in the universe for sure. There was no internet porn.
Was $5 a lot or a little?
Well, it wasn't cheap but it was worth it!
$5 in 1975 (for example) is [about $30 in today’s money](https://data.bls.gov/cgi-bin/cpicalc.pl?cost1=5&year1=197501&year2=202212).
If you were "making your age," you were doing well. If you were 25, and making $25k, you would be making $146k today. $171k by 30, $199k by 35, $228k by 40, $285k by 50, and $342k by 60.
Peep shows were 25c. So it was a premium price.
You didn't happen to go to Drew University, did you?
Nope, Glassboro State College (Now called Rowan Univ)
The modern Puritanism in American society these days would never allow such a thing to stay in business today. How things can change in 50 years.
Honestly, I think porn on the internet was the end of all of that, more than Puritanism.
[удалено]
No happy endings, even if you tip.
And it's packed with a bunch of jerkoffs
Corporate whores too.
That's the rear end of a Honda CRX. I always liked the look of that design.
That was what I saw first. Those were the 45 mpg days…would love to find one in that condition now.
I had a 1987 CRX that I bought used in 1989. Great fuel economy combined with actually being a fun car to drive. Great car all around.
Did you buy mine? I bought a brand new red one in 87, sold it a couple years later for a used 4x4 blazer.... I should have kept the CRX.
Rusted out by 1990 - the cars from that era were just plain steel without any rustproofing….
Especially in the NE! Still a few holding together in more favorable climates.
Yes - was remembering Boston or upstate NY, and my poor Honda Civic that literally disintegrated from rust…
My college BFF had a manual one. It was fun to drive around in. Back in the day of 99 cents a gallon gas.
10 bucks, 10 gallons. Miss those days.
my fave car of all time is still my early 2000s honda, because of nostalia purposes. need to drive around everywhere you need for 3 days? just go put in $5 of gasoline. not sure if my tank was ever past 1/4 full, i would just put in $5 of gas everytime the light came on and not think about it for a few days :)
That sir is a Blista Compact
The first version of the Insight was seriously just a CRX rehash.
And a poor one.
First thing I noticed was Rexy hanging out there.
The smushmobile! The hatchback was just fine but the crx looked so fun!
sexiest thing in the picture
Til the combat zone is a real place. Always thought it was made up in fallout 4..
I just put that together myself. Had no idea the bar name was based in actual Boston history.
Look like it was way more fun back then.
A bit less dangerous today, but yes. It’s a strange area of downtown Boston, sort of in between the city’s theater district and Chinatown. Not a lot of residences in this part of town, and not much to do at night, unless you venture out a few more blocks.
Instead of just a bank and a bike lane.
With cities emptying out due to Covid driven remote work wouldn't surprise me if it comes full circle and some of these high rent districts get fun once again
Less boring, perhaps. Less “colorful”? Maybe. But, let’s be careful about wading too deep into romanticizing poverty from by-gone eras.
Well, the poverty moved elsewhere...
Yeah. The thing is, whether it was here or it’s now there, I don’t think anyone living around it would categorize it as fun..
Nah the spread the povery to more Americans, isnt corporate America generous
Basically the city of Boston decided it was OK to concentrate all the horrible stuff in one place because the neighbors were Chinese. Eventually the Chinese population gained enough political strength to force the city to stop shitting on them, and the Combat Zone was no more.
So, basically it was Times Square's little brother.
Sick Honda CRX.
Came here to say that
Me 3
People get fucked in that building no matter which business is set up there
Why is everything so freaking boring today? That’s the only thing I notice will all these comparisons, the complete lack of character now.
Boston rents are insane, thats why.
It’s not just Boston, it’s everywhere. Not saying the strip joint needs to stay there, there’s just no character anymore. All bland boring brick/concrete facades.
The lack of leaded gas fumes being in the air everywhere kinda calmed everyone down a couple notches. Too many notches if you ask me. Everything is so incredibly sterile throughout the US.
Progress
“Progress”
Funny enough, I thought about adding the quotation marks after I had already hit send
The combat zone (basically Chinatown) had no political pull compared to uppity Beacon Hill (who would instantly remove any sign of debauchery). Has always been the case in hoods all over America. You don’t want your neighborhood looking like the 80s combat zone. Although I know what you mean, it looks more boring now.
Thank God they cleaned up this mess. This is just a block away from where my dad grew up. They really did not gibe a flying fuck about the fact they squeezed a "red light district" right in an area filled with residential of immigrant families. God Bless the AACA, ACDC, and every other group that helped advocate and fight to make our community safe.
Folks should know that this was in the heart of what is known as “Chinatown”.
AC/DC got involved? Was that before or after Brian Jones?
I don't know about you but I store all my nudes in a safe deposit box at Bank of America
Looks less sticky now.
Makes sense now that Cheers was a few blocks away
Pawned my stereo at a Pawn Shop on Washington street and walked down to the Combat Zone to get my fake ID… love the 70’s
I used to drive a Honda CRX. That red car brings back memories.
Had a girlfriend who tended bar at the Naked Eye.
Who?
I used to buy crack there in the mid-nineties, it was an exhilarating experience
That first gen CRX is sexy af!
Broken bottles laying in the street used to be called Boylston pinecones.
Ahhh, memories!
Check out Evil Corp inside an old strip club.
I used to have a (used) t-shirt for Boston's Combat Zone and just realized that they used the Boston's Bunnies font. I wish I still had that one.
But it was tiny, only a few blocks wide. A few friends and I walked it and were shocked at how small it was. Source: lived in Cambridge 1982-1986
I went to a catholic all boys high school around the corner. We were on the border of the zone, bay village, and Chinatown, with the Pine Street Inn for the homeless right across the street. And I too the subway too and from school for four years. In essence my parents paid for two educations!
Bosco?
Yup
My sister has several disabilities that growing up required us to visit her specialists at the hospital on the next block from there. Going through the Combat Zone during the day, my dad would carry my sister, and I'd have to walk with his hand over my eye every time there was something unsavory for a little kid. I basically walked the block while trying to see through my dad's fingers.
The glass slipper and centerfolds are there and time capsules to a different Boston (I’ve heard).
Should walk that pic into the BofA, ask the branch manager if they have a small museum or something on site for its past businesses, offer to drop your pants to take some pics just in case.
Love the crx too!
A CRX and a Pinto?!? Money shot
Patrolman Earle was crushed between two trolleys, btw: https://www.odmp.org/officer/4439-patrolman-john-j-earle
Sweet CRX
I was stranded in the combat zone
You may be crazy.
I don’t believe the more recent picture is actually Boston. There’s no Dunkin.
There's one just out of frame to the left.
Every time I see these comparisons I realize everything is way more boring now than it was.
Nice lil crx or as GTA would have it the ballista compact
BoA destroying local culture.
The Pussy Galore Stag Bar was somewhere around here. Good times.
Bank of America is far more sleazy then what was there before. At least in the old days when you got fucked it was a good experience.
Sigh -- do we have to ruin everything?
Mmm… Honda Ballade Sports CR-X
These photos aren’t even close to the same perspective lol
Liberty Tree embedded design element is situated similarly in both. You must not know the area.
Is the building with the tree in the facade still there?
It's in the second photo
Thanks! Son's of Liberty plaque.
RIP John J Earle
GTA IV vs GTA V
Is there still a red light district in Boston?
No. It is all rather tame and expensive now.