Park Books, an adult bookstore, opened at 1813 East 13th Street in 1975. Park Books was located in the southwest corner of the Park Center Complex (now Reserve Square Complex). Though Park Books was not an exclusively a gay bookstore, it sold a variety of adult books, videos, and items of interest to gay patrons. Park Books was a frequent target of “anti-obscenity” raids by the Cleveland Police Department’s Smut Squad and Obscenity Enforcement Unit throughout the 1970s. Park Books closed sometime in the late 1990s.
Additional information coming soon.
Resources
- “4 Charged After Raids on Adult Bookstores.” Plain Dealer. August 5, 1987.
- Carlson, William, and Denise Stinson. “16 Seized in Pornography Raids.” Plain Dealer. September 9, 1977.
- “Gay Ohio: Cleveland.” The Guide. October 1989. Page 38.
- Hagan, John F. “8 Stores For Adults Sue Police Over Raids.” Plain Dealer. August 15, 1987.
- Kersey, Nancy Bigler. “‘Skin’ Is For Sale All Over.” Plain Dealer. March 6, 1977.
- McAuley, Robert J. “Bookstore, Clerk Sue Perk, Police Over Pornography Raid.” Plain Dealer. September 24, 1977.
- Saul, Stephanie. “8 Firms Fined in Probe of Smut Empire.” Plain Dealer. February 11, 1982.