I do a fair amount of research for my novel, and during a recent fact-checking session I came across "When Cathouses Ruled California." It's an amazing history of the Pussycat Theatre chain, with tons of pictures and the kind of odd details that resurrect the story before your eyes.
"Though operated under the Walnut umbrella, Miranda took great personal interest in the Pussycats. He outfitted each theater with crimson carpeting, velveteen fixtures, decorated walls (usually including selections from his own huge collection of painted nudes), beveled glass foyer partitions, and crystal chandeliers with golden fittings.
Unlike many - if not most - porn theaters to follow, Miranda instructed all his managers that 'Theater marquees should never be offensive looking, because you have people going by on their way to church and we don’t want to upset them.'
If an X-movie's poster wasn't particularly attractive in the marquee showcase, he'd commission and produce his own colorful, relatively 'classy' display posters, shipped to managers chainwide to use as their public face in communities increasingly -- surprisingly -- receptive to hosting an X-rated theater or drive-in."
This was my Pussycat. It's gone now.
