Gay pornography could be found on the magazine racks of this adult book stores and its coin-operated peep show booths offered another space for furtive sex or hook-ups in the city.

A rack of gay porn magazines made this spot a destination for cruising on the backside of The Block.

In 1967 the Paris took up residence in the old Capital Theatre, a 1920s movie palace that had seen better days. A year later the owners unveiled “Worcester’s first theater within a theater,” Paris Cinema 2, built on the balcony atop Paris Cinema 1.…

Known by many names but most frequently “the Block,” the circuit defined by Salem, Portland, Franklin, and Myrtle Streets was Worcester’s most popular zone for gay male cruising and prostitution beginning in the early 1970s. In 1976, the Gay…