Vancouver's exotic nightclubs have played a big role in the city's pop culture, and have had an impact beyond the metro area.
In fact, the Penthouse holds a record in Canada as the oldest club of the type in Canada. It may even be the oldest continuously operating nightclub of any type.
The culture around strip clubs has changed recently (it's estimated there were thousands of people working in the industry in the 90s, while there are only a couple of hundred now), but the city's remaining locations keep popping up; among other things, Deadpool was filmed at No. 5 Orange.
So here are 5 other things you might not know about strip clubs in Vancouver
1. Bennifer ends in part because of an incident at Brandi's
Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez were one of Hollywood's biggest power couples in the early 2000s and in late 2002 they were engaged with a wedding planned for fall 2003.
In the spring of 2003 a story came to light in a tabloid, told by a stripper from Vancouver. In it she said Affleck showed up in downtown's Brandi's along with Christian Slater, Tara Reid, and others.
During private dances, she said, he was kissing some of the girls working at the club.
Shortly after word apparently got back to Lopez and the engagement was off.
2. David Duchovny is banned from the No. 5 Orange
The X-Files were a big deal for Vancouver's film industry. The show shot in the city for years as it grew to be one of the biggest shows of the 90s and a major pop culture touchstone.
For five seasons Vancouver and the area played the part of dozens of places in the US as FBI Agents Fox Mulder (played by David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (played by Gillian Anderson) sought the paranormal.
Then production moved to the US, with Duchovny taking heat in the local media for being the reason for the departure, as he apparently didn't like the weather or being so far from his wife.
He irked the people of the city so much that the No. 5 Orange banned him, and they made sure he knew by taking out a newspaper ad to declare it.
When the X-Files returned to the city to shoot new episodes for its revival a few years ago, No. 5 made it clear the grudge continued, putting up a sign on their marquee that read "David Duchovny you're still barred."
3. Slippery When Wet by Bon Jovi is named after an experience in a Vancouver strip club
Bon Jovi had had some success by the mid-1980s when they moved to Vancouver to record their third album in 1986.
Originally it was going to be called "Wanted Dead or Alive" after one of the songs they recorded, but that was changed after a trip to No. 5.
While there they saw something they'd never seen anywhere else, as a woman showered on stage. The band was apparently inspired so much by the scene they changed the name of their album.
4. Courtney Love worked at No. 5 Orange
Courtney Love was, for a spell, one of the biggest women in rock.
The Hole frontwoman spent a lot of time in her early years on the West Coast and, according to her, that included a stint dancing at the No. 5.
5. Frank Sinatra caused a huge crowd at the Penthouse
The Penthouse holds has been around, officially, for more than 70 years, and has evolved with the times. In the early days performances were stripteases which had evolved from burlesque.
Vancouver was one of the more tolerant cities in North America for this sort of thing, and the Penthouse was a popular place for those performances (sometimes considered a gentlemen's club).
Many performers stopped by the club while they were in town, including Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald.
Frank Sinatra was another; one night he was performing himself, at the Orpheum, and at the end of the show he mentioned he was headed over to the Penthouse, causing a massive crowd with a line around the block.
