NZ visual diary - entry 68

K Road - The Las Vegas Striptease and Bar

One always returns to Karangahape (K) Road.

Few establishments on K Road are as storied as the Las Vegas Striptease and Bar. Promoted as the premiere striptease venue in all of Australasia, the club opened in 1962 and entertained audiences for the subsequent 53 years.

A fitting tribute published by the news journal Stuff highlighted both the former history of K Road as Auckland's busiest shopping street and Las Vegas as New Zealand's most prominent strip club. The article noted:

Until the 1960s, K Rd was Auckland's busiest shopping street, home to the city's illustrious and biggest retail shops like Pascoes, Hugh Wrights, and the George Courts department store. Beneath Las Vegas' second floor lounge, there was a T&T childrenswear shop. A famous image by photographer Robin Morrison, shows a group of mothers waiting for the shop to open, standing with prams and infants beneath the neon lights of Vegas.

The Las Vegas Striptease and Bar opened in 1962 and is the longest running strip club in New Zealand. Alongside the Pink Pussycat it was K Rd's pioneering strip club.

With my stylised photograph of the front entrance, I offer a tilt of my hat.