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<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nAmid this adult \u201cgold rush\u201d backdrop, a former market and liquor store space, located at 5462 Santa Monica Blvd, opened as the generically branded \u201cMini Theater\u201d, on November 5, 1969. Originally featuring live strip shows, along with \u201ccontinuous adult features\u201d, the fifty-seat venue was dark, sparse, and barely larger than a typical living room. However, nobody was venturing through the turnstile entry in search of grandeur or amenities. Following a remodel and rebranding, as the \u201cTiki Theater Xymposium\u201d, seating was reduced to thirty \u201cluxury\u201d rockers and the live entertainment was phased out. In the mid 80\u2019s, the Tiki\u2019s 16mm projectors were cast off in favor of video projection, but the adult cinema \u201cgold rush\u201d was already winding down with the rise of home viewing options.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nBy the new millennium, the scores of full-fledged adult theatres and makeshift storefront cinemas (some estimates list in excess of 800 adult film venues as having existed nationwide by 1979) had all but vanished. Yet, against all odds, the Tiki Theater somehow managed to survive. As of 2021, the Tiki is the only straight adult cinema still operating in Los Angeles (the gay oriented Studs Theater<\/a> being the only other adult cinema in operation). Despite being out of step with the times and, seemingly, offering nothing desirable as a business, the Tiki\u2019s bright red storefront has become a kitschy piece of LA culture\/history. From making headlines as the site of comedian Fred Willard\u2019s 2012 arrest for committing a lewd act, to regularly popping up as the subject of professional and social media photo shoots, the Tiki Theater Xymposium continues to draw attention after fifty-one years, as the final marker of Los Angeles\u2019 \u201cAdults Only\u201d past.<\/p>\n\n\n\n