CINCINNATI

When I was a teenager in Cincinnati in the late 1950s and early 1960s, the guys would often whisper about making a visit to the Gayety.  Officially, the Gayety Burlesk, it was a theater the likes of which  many cities tolerated in the early part of last century;  ladies dancing in minimum attire -  comedians with off-color jokes and double entendre remarks - all-male clientele in overcoats - cheap whiskey.  The wrecking ball took care of it in about 1970.

In it's final days, the Gayety was located right next to the Cincinnati Main Public Library.  The theater opened just after the turn of the century as the Empress Theater.  The chili parlor next to it took the name for itself and the business still uses it today.