A peep show landmark? Lusty Ladies hope so

Barbarella is waiting for a customer in the VIP booth of the Lusty Lady Theatre in San Francisco, Calif. on Tuesday, June 19, 2012. In here the visitors can express their wishes, which also includes a toyshow besides the dancing. Because of her other job Barbarella doesn't want to get recognized. less Barbarella is waiting for a customer in the VIP booth of the Lusty Lady Theatre in San Francisco, Calif. on Tuesday, June 19, 2012. In here the visitors can express their wishes, which also includes a toyshow ... more Photo: Sonja Och, The Chronicle Photo: Sonja Och, The Chronicle Image 1 of / 7 Caption Close A peep show landmark? Lusty Ladies hope so 1 / 7 Back to Gallery

What do you do when nudity is not enough? That's the question confronting the Lusty Lady, the long-running adult peep show in North Beach.

The neighborhood, once known for Carol Doda dancing topless on a piano suspended from the ceiling, City Lights Bookstore, and the birthplace of the Beat Generation, has become inundated with cookie-cutter strip clubs. The Lusty Lady, which bills itself as "the world's only unionized worker-owned peep show co-op," is looking a little frayed around the tassels.

Last month I wrote about how it was in such financial distress that it might close. That hasn't happened and the owner/dancers are mulling the idea of turning themselves into a Lusty tourist landmark. Sort of a nude Coit Tower.

"Kind of like the bookstore around the corner," said spokeswoman Prince$$, who prefers to use her stage name. "It became the Beat Museum. They have Jack Kerouac memorabilia, and people come check it out. We'd like to maintain it as a kink-friendly San Francisco place, but maybe capitalize on the historical landmark part."

It's not a bad idea, says Jerry Cimino, manager of the Beat Museum, which has thrived for nearly 10 years on Broadway.

"The Lusty Lady might be onto something," he said. "That place has such a storied past. They might make it more of a fun thing. It's like us, we're a niche. Like Jerry Garcia said: 'You don't want to be the best at what you do, you want to be the only one.' "

Not just Barbie Dolls

The Lusty has always been proud that its dancers aren't the blonde Barbie Doll types found in the corporate clubs.

"We have those, too," Prince$$ says. "And we don't hate on them. But it's like seeing the same movie every time."

Laurie Armstrong, spokeswoman for San Francisco Travel, says a city that saw tourists spend more than $8 billion in 2011 could be an ideal market for a peep show landmark pitch.

"We're a very nostalgic city," she said. "Look at Haight-Ashbury, the Beats, even the Gold Rush. And don't forget, this is the city that put Carol Doda's chest in lights."

There's plenty of history behind the Lusty door. Established at the same Kearny Street location in 1976 to show porn films, it went to live entertainment in 1983. In 1996, unhappy with working conditions, the dancers staged a famous uprising, complete with a picket line, which eventually led to the Exotic Dancers Union.

Co-op peep show

The women made headlines again in 2003 when they put together a cooperative, and purchased the place. The unionized, co-op peep show was an irresistible, only-in-San Francisco story for the national media.

Even now, Prince$$ says, tourists seek out the place.

"People come to take a picture of our sign," she says.

The problem is they don't come in. And, to be blunt, in its current condition, you can see why.

"Retro is one thing," Prince$$ says. "But this qualifies more as run-down."

Looking for an investor

What they'd really like is to find an investor. Clearly, the current model may not survive. It didn't help, frankly, when customers were greeted by curmudgeonly desk staff.

"It was getting to be like the movie, 'Clerks,' - where they said this would be great if it weren't for the customers," Prince$$ says. "We're trying to change the culture a little, with some really enthusiastic customer service."

Making the peep show a tourist stop is a quirky idea, but the Lusty Lady has always been all about the quirk.

"We may be launching the best new project in San Francisco, or we may be filing for bankruptcy," Prince$$ says.

Hey, it could work. My advice: find a piano, hang it from the ceiling, and dance on it. That never gets old.