8. Chez Pierre

While the rest of world evolves, while buildings are renovated and facades modernized, Chez Pierre sits in a sleazy 70s time warp.

But before I go any further, let me first stress that I've never been inside my city's most famous burlesque establishment. (Seriously, it's true!)

There are certainly bawdier places than Chez Pierre. Its offer of "Nude Shows" almost seems quaint today. The side of the building used to have a mural of a kicking dancer in bloomers and a frilly skirt, which gave the impression that the place was home to some sort of Klondike musical revue. That painting has been replaced by one of Chez Pierre's proprietor Pierre Cochard (or so we must assume), wearing a blue velour jumpsuit and white scarf, drinking a martini and beckoning the aficionados of "Nude Shows" to enter.

In this article we find a brief history of Chez Pierre:

Had things worked out differently, Cochard’s claim to fame would be the introduction of mobile canteens – those lunch trucks that wheel into construction sites. But he’s more notoriously known for introducing something else to Edmonton in 1971: strip clubs.

Cochard opened the Chez Pierre Cabaret on 105 Street in 1970, as a "discotechque." Although it drew in hundreds of people, Cochard wasn’t making enough money to pay the rent, so a year later he turned Chez Pierre into the first strip club in Edmonton. The transition was anything but smooth.

Placard-waving protesters gathered outside the club demanding it be closed. Cochard was arrested several times and charged with staging indecent shows, but he was never convicted. The club was vandalized several times, even recently, when outdoor murals of dancers were defaced.

Despite the opposition, or perhaps because of it, Cochard grew more brazen. He held the first Miss Nude Edmonton pageant in 1975, eliciting further howls of protest from the public and clergy. Cochard and pageant participants appeared on the CBC evening news and angry viewers complained the public broadcaster was wasting taxpayers’ money. The debate went all the way to the House of Commons.

In 1980 Cochard brought table dancing to Edmonton. In 1985, he hired mud wrestlers from the U.S. Jelly and spaghetti wrestling shows followed. Angry Edmontonians continued to protest. To them, Cochard had no morals. How could he? He made his fortune by cashing in on sex.

What kind of sick fuck would enjoy spaghetti wrestling?