VIDEO ARCADE

Situated on the ground floor upon entrance to Show World, the video arcade underwent several incarnations between 1974 and 1998. Originally the arcade consisted of (24) film peep show booths that lined both sides of a narrow corridor and extended into an ‘L’ shape. Each booth was equipped with what was essentially a coin-operated nickelodeon that allowed apportioned viewing of designated ‘sound movies’; the construction of the booth and closing door of which were modernized by owner Richard Basciano. Initially these ‘peeps’ operated with the insertion of a quarter, with a panel adjacent to each booth that displayed the title and content of each film for easy selection. Each booth projected triple X-rated 8mm films which were referred to as ‘loops’, and offered ‘previews’ of films which could be bought in the book store. Each booth was also furnished with a stool which provided some degree of comfort to the customer; but proved somewhat cumbersome over time (especially when it came to decontamination) and was later replaced with a portable bench built into the booth that conveniently folded when not in use. Continue