Clermont Lounge

The Clermont

The world-famous Clermont Lounge

The Clermont Lounge is Atlanta's first and longest continually operating strip club, opened in 1965. Located in the basement of the Clermont Motor Hotel at 789 Ponce De Leon Avenue, in the Poncey-Highland neighborhood. The Clermont has survived multiple attempts at being closed by the Atlanta city government, and has established a nationwide reputation for its kitschy atmosphere and unusual dancers. The Clermont has been featured on an episode of Insomniac with Dave Attell, and celebrities including Marilyn Manson, Ashton Kutcher, and Kid Rock have been known to visit the Clermont when in Atlanta. Visitors to the Clermont usually alternate between a few handfuls of regulars and large numbers of college students, newcomers to town, and tourists lured in by tales of the Clermont's myriad charms.

The Clermont does not serve food or draft beer. The single stripper's stage is located in the middle of a circular bar, and the dancers choose their own songs on the in-house jukebox, as the club normally does not have an actual DJ, except for Saturday nights when DJ Romeo Cologne packs the club spinning Dance Party Funk since 1995. The Clermont is perhaps best known for featuring some dancers who do not meet the traditional physical standards for strippers, the most famous of whom is Blondie, noted for her ability to completely flatten empty beer cans between her breasts as well as for her poetry.

History

The Clermont Motor Hotel was built in 1924 and was originally an apartment building after its construction, but was later renovated to a hotel format. Hearsay has it that Al Capone leased the entire top floor, with access to the roof when he attempted to muscle in on the good old boy racketeering in the Atlanta area, but he soon moved his operations out of the state. An early advertisement for a nightclub in the basement space is dated 1947 and the club was the "Anchorage Club". Later tenants included the "Gypsy Club" (c. 1951-1954), and "The Continental Room" (1954) before returning to the Anchorage name from about 1956 until 1963, when it was briefly known as the "Atlanta Playboy Club", an unofficial attempt to capitalize on the popularity of Hugh Hefner's magazine. A lawsuit closed the Atlanta Playboy Club. By 1965, the "Jungle Club" opened its doors within the Clermont Hotel. In 1968, the "Clermont Lounge" opened for business and has remained in place ever since. The entire building was sold to new owners in 2003.

In December 2009, the health department ordered the hotel to close for numerous health-code violations, including dirty linen, old bedding, bed bug stains, mold growing on the walls, black water spilling from faucets, and broken toilet fixtures. ^[1]

Notable employees

• Tabitha Fringe Chase
• Blondie: Best known for crushing empty beer cans between her breasts and writing poetry
• Porscha: Best known for her Little Bo Peep and other colorful costumes

References

1. ^ http://www.ajc.com/news/atlanta/clermont-hotel-shut-down-243107.html

External links

• Official site.
• A couple of dozen vintage ads for burlesque clubs that operated in the Clermont Hotel over the last several decades
• Images and info from About.com

33°46′25″N 84°21′41″W / 33.77348°N 84.361302°W / 33.77348; -84.361302Coordinates: 33°46′25″N 84°21′41″W / 33.77348°N 84.361302°W / 33.77348; -84.361302