Breast-shaped strip club building demolished in Winter Park

Winter Park’s infamous breast-shaped gentlemen’s club is no more.

The city demolished the Christie’s Cabaret building – once home of the Booby Trap – off of Lee Road last Wednesday after purchasing the property the building sat on in December.

Mayor Ken Bradley said the City Commission mainly voted to acquire the property and demolish the building due to its history of crime and drug trafficking.

“I think this is the right thing for Winter Park to do,” Bradley said moments before the building was destroyed. “I’m proud to be here not because of what this stood for, but because of what it’s going to stand for in our city’s future.”

“It’s symbolic of what we’re doing in Winter Park to continue to improve.”

But some Winter Park residents believe the city paid too much to obtain a building they only saw as an eyesore. City Manager Randy Knight said the property had been appraised for $830,000, but that the city could save money by avoiding legal costs and staff hours.

Winter Park purchased the property for $990,000.

“I think it was a poor choice of tax dollars,” said resident Hillary Bressler, adding that she thought the city likely demolished the building because of “its image.”

“I don’t have any real problem with the building being there and I don’t have a problem getting rid of it,” said resident Steven Roberts at the December meeting. “What I have a problem with is losing money doing it.”

“That’s $160,000 for the sake of getting rid of a couple of boobs on Lee Road. That to me seems extreme.”

Bressler added that other businesses along Lee Road have a far worse history of crime, including solicited prostitution.

The Elite massage parlor at 320 Grove Ave. was exposed for alleged prostitution in December, resulting in five women facing charges for their role in the illegal business.

“There are probably five or six sex parlors [in Winter Park]. There’s two right here on Lee Road,” Bressler said.

“I’ve contacted the city and they keep promising to do something and they don’t.”

Last month talks surfaced of the Winter Park strip club’s conical buildings possibly being relocated out-of-state. Tom Veigle, the original builder and owner of the building, said he wanted to use the two fiberglass domes, originally purposed as permanent tents, and use them for a campsite at the Thomas Kosmon Veigle Children’s Foundation – an orphanage he established in Tiger, Ga., in 2004 in honor of his deceased son.

Veigle decided that the endeavor would be too costly and looked on last week as the building was reduced to rubble.

“Those sections come apart, but after 40 years of paint and weather, they corroded and there’s no way you can get them apart,” Veigle said. “I’ll just buy new domes for the campsite.”

The Lee Road property is up for sale by the city.