From the post: "Hotel Max, has officially begun providing guests with the opportunity to try out a “50 Shades of Seattle” vacation package. This stay package will allow guests to enjoy a suite specifically prepared to reenact the “Fifty Shades” experience from the original James novel.

The early reports state that there is a minimum of two nights needed in the package. Guests will be able to enjoy a “King of Artists” double room, a car with chauffeur for the evening, as well as a sailing event in Puget Sound. A quality picnic and Christian Grey’s favorite champagne will also be included."

Below is a picture of 1st Avenue in 1975 between Union and Pike. Beyond the Wonder Inn, you can see "Open All-Nite"; a sign belonging to the Green Parrot Theater. Today this is the South Arcade to the Market with an entrance to the Pike Brewery half way down the block. 

Courtesy of the Seattle Municipal Archives, Image # 35976

The Green Parrot was one of the most well known adult theaters on First Avenue. 

You might notice that this view of First Avenue is the same one that is used to advertise the film, Cinderella Liberty.

"The things people call Seattleites. Sheesh.

Depressed. Bookish. Horny.

Oh, you want to know more about that last one, do you? You can thank the Daily Beast for that label.

The site named Seattle the third horniest city in the nation, right after Atlanta (No. 2) and Austin (horndog supreme at No. 1)." keep reading

Mayor McGinn proposes letting bars stay open later, or all night

By Emily Heffter

Letting bars serve liquor later or even all night is one controversial option Mayor Mike McGinn is considering as part of a new initiative to curb nightclub noise and violence.

McGinn presented his proposal — which also includes required bar security-officer training, tighter noise restrictions and more late-night bus service — at a rock-concert-themed news conference Tuesday night on Capitol Hill.

McGinn said his proposal is "a new approach to an age-old issue." People are sometimes at odds over nightlife, he pointed out.

"Oftentimes ... our nighttime experience is viewed as a nuisance or a hindrance or an obstacle."

His announcement was attended by five City Council members and City Attorney Pete Holmes.

The mayor hired a consultant to look at flexible bar-closing times. The state requires bars to stop serving liquor at 2 a.m., so hundreds of patrons leave the bars between 1:30 and 2:30 a.m., sometimes overwhelming law enforcement.

If the city removed, with state approval, a mandatory end time for liquor service, the market would dictate closing times, said Dave Meinert, of the Seattle Nightlife and Music Association.

Acting Seattle Police Chief John Diaz said Tuesday that he supports the proposal.

"It's a proposal that's taken a more holistic approach to ensuring we have a vibrant nightlife in the city and also address public-safety concerns," he said.

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Seattle's strip-club ordinance rejected

By Mike Carter

A federal judge has struck down Seattle's strip-club licensing ordinance — again — saying the city's failure to provide applicants with a deadline for obtaining a license violates the First Amendment protections of would-be club owners.

The ordinance was passed in 2005 after its predecessor was found unconstitutional in a lawsuit filed by businessman and onetime comedy-club owner Bob Davis. The city paid him $500,000 in damages in that lawsuit.

Davis is also behind the lawsuit that has resulted in this week's federal court ruling, and the Seattle City Attorney's Office acknowledges he may be eligible for damages from this case as well.

Davis won $350,000 from the city of Bothell in 2008 in a similar case.

The ruling in Seattle this week by U.S. District Chief Judge Robert Lasnik came in a case filed by Davis in 2008, which claimed the city was obstructing his efforts to convert a Aurora Avenue North restaurant, Cyndy's House of Pancakes, into a strip club. Davis challenged the city's requirement that he obtain a license and comply with a zoning ordinance that requires "adult cabarets" to be sited away from schools, community centers, child-care centers and public parks.

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