City of Industry
<div>What is this place that you have never heard of that has seven strip clubs? <br />
<br />
You might think that it had some sort of strip club red-light district, but that is not the case. While Bliss and Miss Kitty’s are within sight of each other and Spearmint Rhino and Synn might be considered within walking distance of each other the clubs otherwise are quite spread out. This has to do with the unique character of the city. It snakes along the two main eastbound rail lines from Los Angeles plus the Pomona Freeway. Thus it is long and narrow. <br />
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The other thing that defines the City of Industry is that almost nobody lives there. You might see some homes not far from the strip clubs there but be assured those homes are in other cities. When the city was laid out, and as it was expanded and rezoned, every possible effort was made to avoid any residential areas. In order to make the minimum population for incorporation the permanent residents of the Lanterman Developmental Center (a mental hospital) was included. The normal population of the city is only a few hundred. Typically municipal elections might get around 40 votes. Thus the City of Industry might have as little as one strip club for every 50 adult males!<br />
</div>
<div>With such a small city population the potential candidate pool for the city council is pretty small. But as small as the population is the number of landowners is far smaller. Only a handful of companies own essentially all of the land in the city, in particular the gigantic Majestic Realty company. So nearly all of those citizens have Majestic or one of the other landowners as employer or landlord.<br />
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<div>So there are very few citizens and those live far away from the clubs. Moreover the main reason the concerned citizens really want to crack down on strip clubs…that they hurt property values…is irrelevant because all of the land that might be affected within the city limits is already industrial or commercial.</div>
<div><br />
So it is sort of a semi-feudal setup where everybody is aligned on the same direction, whatever makes more money for the landowner is good.</div>
<div><br />
The City of Industry is a contract city. That means that they get all of their public services including police protection from the County. That means the city sets the budget for the number of police that they will be paying for. With the pro-business bent of the city you can be certain that theft from the many massive warehouses is a much higher priority than whether somebody is getting a too-intimate lap dance at the Hawaii Theatre.</div>
<div><br />
Of course the homeowners in the other cities only a few blocks away might disagree, but disagreements over land use between Industry and its neighbors are a longstanding pattern. For example there was the failed proposal to build a giant facility for loading trash onto trains for delivery to landfills in the desert. And more recently squabbles over plans to build a stadium and entertainment complex to attract a NFL team.</div>
<div><br />
So the City of Industry is kind of a unique place, the equivalent of a company town for a few real estate developers where businesses, even strip clubs, are king.</div>
<br />
You might think that it had some sort of strip club red-light district, but that is not the case. While Bliss and Miss Kitty’s are within sight of each other and Spearmint Rhino and Synn might be considered within walking distance of each other the clubs otherwise are quite spread out. This has to do with the unique character of the city. It snakes along the two main eastbound rail lines from Los Angeles plus the Pomona Freeway. Thus it is long and narrow. <br />
<br />
The other thing that defines the City of Industry is that almost nobody lives there. You might see some homes not far from the strip clubs there but be assured those homes are in other cities. When the city was laid out, and as it was expanded and rezoned, every possible effort was made to avoid any residential areas. In order to make the minimum population for incorporation the permanent residents of the Lanterman Developmental Center (a mental hospital) was included. The normal population of the city is only a few hundred. Typically municipal elections might get around 40 votes. Thus the City of Industry might have as little as one strip club for every 50 adult males!<br />
</div>
<div>With such a small city population the potential candidate pool for the city council is pretty small. But as small as the population is the number of landowners is far smaller. Only a handful of companies own essentially all of the land in the city, in particular the gigantic Majestic Realty company. So nearly all of those citizens have Majestic or one of the other landowners as employer or landlord.<br />
</div>
<div>So there are very few citizens and those live far away from the clubs. Moreover the main reason the concerned citizens really want to crack down on strip clubs…that they hurt property values…is irrelevant because all of the land that might be affected within the city limits is already industrial or commercial.</div>
<div><br />
So it is sort of a semi-feudal setup where everybody is aligned on the same direction, whatever makes more money for the landowner is good.</div>
<div><br />
The City of Industry is a contract city. That means that they get all of their public services including police protection from the County. That means the city sets the budget for the number of police that they will be paying for. With the pro-business bent of the city you can be certain that theft from the many massive warehouses is a much higher priority than whether somebody is getting a too-intimate lap dance at the Hawaii Theatre.</div>
<div><br />
Of course the homeowners in the other cities only a few blocks away might disagree, but disagreements over land use between Industry and its neighbors are a longstanding pattern. For example there was the failed proposal to build a giant facility for loading trash onto trains for delivery to landfills in the desert. And more recently squabbles over plans to build a stadium and entertainment complex to attract a NFL team.</div>
<div><br />
So the City of Industry is kind of a unique place, the equivalent of a company town for a few real estate developers where businesses, even strip clubs, are king.</div>
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4 comments
<br />
One thing that was overlooked in the article is La Puente. As the writer said, City of Industry is very narrow and very long and has practically no residential area at all. But La Puente has a couple of good strip clubs, and it DOES have residential. And at least one of these clubs is just as high mileage and just as much fun as COI clubs on average. <br />
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I recommend everybody go to visit Hawaii Theater -- it is justifiably famous. And unique. You won't be sorry. I can't remember off the top of my head if Hawaii Theater is in COI or L P but it doesn't really matter - it is easy to find, very safe, and a lot of fun.<br type="_moz" />