NORTHAMPTON, Massachusetts – To the strains of “Oh Holy Night” and other Christmas tunes, customers got their first look yesterday at the merchandise available at Amazing.net, the adult store at 135 King St.,
Owned and operated by Capital Video Corp. of Rhode Island, the store features adult videos, DVDs, sex toys and even a voluptuous art gallery with original paintings for sale at prices up to $725. Its opening yesterday was preceded by months of community debate about zoning, pornography and the prospect of increased crime in the vicinity.
Although opponents of the store lobbied hard to keep it out of Northampton, there were no protesters outside yesterday. Although parts of the sidewalks along King Street were impassable because of Sunday’s snowstorm, the section in front of Amazing.net was shoveled. The display windows featured holiday scenes such as gift wrapping and an electric reindeer.
Inside the store, the sound system played Christmas songs as three customers from Easthampton browsed among the displays of erotic merchandise. The two young women in charge of the store referred all questions to Capital Video’s corporate offices. Capital’s lawyer, Leslie Rich, could not be reached for comment yesterday.
Two of the three customers would only give their first names. The third declined to give any name at all. All three said they came partly out of curiosity and partly because they feel opponents have made too much of a fuss about the store.
“It’s cool,” said a woman named Leslie, 26. “We’ve been waiting two months for this.”
Adam R. Cohen, who founded the group NoPornNorthampton, said he and wife Jendi Reiter visited the store yesterday and found it “tamer” than some other Amazing.net stores.
Cohen noted that sex magazines, which can be among the most graphic items in such stores, were not on display. A large poster depicted actress Justine Joli in the movie “Prisoner,” nominated by Adult Video News for both best actress and best video feature.
The DVD section is separated from the other wares by a ceiling-to-floor metal grating.