Buck, 36, and Al, 28, are officers with the vice control division, Dallas Police Department. Buck and Al work the day shift, driving their unmarked car to the city’s 25 or so pom theaters, bookstores, and arcades. Harry Hines, Industrial, Elm, Ervay. From ten to six, they watch 16-mm films, secure search warrants, and occasionally, bust a bored pom shop employee. It’s a painstaking, repetitive job, and doesn’t seem to do much good; usually, their collars are back at work in a few hours.
In two weeks, Buck and AI will switch to the night shift, and start hitting the cheap hotels that serve prostitutes working Ervay, Washington, Cedar Springs. The Park Crest, the Uptown One and Two, the Bebop, the San Jose. Buck and Al will pretend to be tricks, until the prostitute names her price. Then they’ll bust her, and hope she doesn ’t have a knife or “friends” down the hall. She’ll be back on the streets the next day.
That’s the rhythm of the vice squad: commercial obscenity by day, prostitution by night. When their tour of duty in vice control ends, Lt. Eddie Walt, section commander, will find replacements. By then, Buck and Al will have passed themselves off as patrons, tricks, and suckers in more places than they can remember.
But they’ll never forget the places on these pages. Because they think these are the worst.
Gaudiest
Showorld
2202 Elm
Arcade, live nude dancing
Owner: Ellwest Stereo
Theaters
“This place sells instant
frustration for a quarter. “
Lt. Walt
Worst Clip Joint
Tamlo Show Lounge
2846 Samuell
Striptease, “cocktail” lounge
(no liquor license)
Owner: Information not
available
“Their deal is to get your money in the quickest way possible. A truckdriver or some guy from out of town comes in, a girl sits down by him and rubs his thigh or something, and sells him a bottle of fake champagne for $80 or $90 a bottle. She gets half, the place gets half. In thirty minutes you can run up a $200 tab, no problem. You’ve got to be pretty stupid – or pretty drunk – to fall for it.”
Lt. Walt
Most Profitable
The Paris 11128 Harry Hines Books and magazines, large-screen theater, arcade
Owner: Charles Carlock. Currently has 11 charges of commercial obscenity pending against him.
“If I was in it for the money, I’d own the Paris. ” Buck
Sleaziest
The Kit Kat Theater 1226 North Industrial Two large-screen theaters, books, magazines, paraphernalia, arcade, live nude dancing, Treasure Chest Modeling Studio
Owner: Walter Whitfield Boyd. Has three felony charges (two aggravated promotion of prostitution, one theft) and 14 charges of commercial obscenity pending against him.
“Even if your seat’s not dirty, you’ll have to move around, because a roach will crawl across your lap or a rat will run down the aisle. I’ve moved six times in less than an hour.”
Al, on the Kit Kat’s movie theaters
Scariest Theater
The Ellwest
308 Ervay
Large-screen theater, live nude dancers, modeling studio
Owner: Ellwest Stereo Theaters
“It’s recently been remodeled, but it still smells the same.”
Buck
Most Dangerous
The San Jose Hotel and Sunshine Room bar 3303 Thomas Prostitution hotel
Owner: Information not available
“This is the oldest continuously operating house of prostitution in town. The Sunshine Room is the worst. Even vice investigators brace up when they go in.” Buck and Lt. Walt
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