West Hollywood, CA — This past weekend marked the final days for iconic gay community and Los Angeles area landmark, Circus of Books. The location will continue in the progressive footsteps of its predecessor, however, with its new occupant.
Retailer Chi Chi LaRue’s is proud to announce the opening of a second store on the east side of West Hollywood. Chi Chi LaRue’s Circus will open at 8230 Santa Monica Boulevard, occupying the historic and legendary Circus of Books’ former location.
The store originally opened as Book Circus in 1960. Karen and Barry Mason then acquired the store in 1982 after the original owner allegedly used his porn profits to support his cocaine habit. Since then, for decades, Circus of Books has been a source of nostalgia for many gay men who entered the space in search of porn, cruising, sex toys, lube, poppers, books and magazines.
Part of the fame of Circus of Books was its location directly in front of the cruisy gay spot known to this day as Vaseline Alley. This and more of the spots history will be detailed in the forthcoming documentary film, Circus of Books, an intimate portrait of the store, the Masons and their journey to become one of the biggest distributors of hardcore gay porn in the United States. Their story unfolds through the lens of their daughter, filmmaker and artist, Rachel Mason.
The new Circus will marry the upscale and fun aspect of the existing Chi Chi LaRue’s store with the history of Circus of Books. A new addition to both locations will be an exciting new Tom of Finland store-within-a-store, which will bring even more history to the spaces.
“Both stores are getting a little lift, plus we are expanding our concept and looking at other manufacturers that mesh with our brands to do pop-ups or longterm store-in-a-store concepts,” said Rob Novinger, owner of C1R.
Channel 1 Releasing (C1R) is the largest gay owned and operated adult entertainment company worldwide. C1R covers the entire gay adult arena with award-winning movies, novelties, online products, direct-mail order and retail stores, including Chi Chi LaRue’s retail locations.
