Lusty Lady strip club to be reborn as Seattle art venue
Jul 19, 2025, 5:01 AM
Exterior sign for The Lusty Lady while it was in operation. (Photo courtesy of KIRO 7)
(Photo courtesy of KIRO 7)
The Lusty Lady, the once-famous defunct strip club adorning Seattle’s “Flesh Alley,” has plans to be converted into an art museum by 2030.
Andrew Conru, a Seattle entrepreneur in fields involving e-commerce, advertising, and online dating, purchased the property in March, but his plans with the six-story building weren’t known until a launch event Friday.
“A few months ago, we acquired the ‘Lusty Lady’ building and plan to transform it into a beautiful new art venue,” Curdo stated on the Lusty Lady’s website. “As it will take a few years to take shape, we put the original marquee sign in storage and will put up a mural.”
Conru is investing $50 million as a Seattle arts initiative for the art venue through his Conru Art Foundation, according to The Puget Sound Business Journal. Some of the projects to be funded include paying eight full-time students at the Seattle Atelier art school through the Seattle Prize Program, funding a $1 million art competition during the 2026 World Cup, and creating ArtLove Salon.
ArtLove Salon is expected to be a 16,000-square-foot art showcase and venue in the historic Harold Poll Building in downtown Seattle, featuring art, hosting events, and providing grants to nonprofits.
“Our core conviction is that great art bridges divides, inspires joy and can even offer healing,” Conru said, according to The Puget Sound Business Journal. “ArtLove Salon is intended to bring all that to life with financial support for artists, curated exhibitions that spark emotion and insight, and as a setting for meetings for everyone in our community.”
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History of the Lusty Lady building
Considered a cultural icon in Seattle, the Lusty Lady’s building was originally constructed in 1893 as a warehouse for the Seattle Dry Goods Company.
It was a hub for shipping and receiving goods before being used as a commerce building in the 1920s, and a base of operations for the U.S. Coast Guard during World War II.
In the 1980s, the building was finally leased to the Lusty Lady, one of the few strip clubs in the country that was collectively owned by its employees. For three decades, the Lusty Lady operated along First Avenue before it was forced to close due to financial reasons.
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