GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — A notorious former porn shop on Grand Rapids' West Side is being transformed into a legitimate art studio that will benefit the community.
For nearly half a century, the 700 block of Leonard Street NW west of Seward Street was home to the Capri No. 3 adult book store, which was considered an eyesore and a magnet for drugs and crime. It closed sown several years ago. Though empty of customers, it was still filled with porn.
Finally, Grand Rapids Public Schools counselor Stephen Smith and his wife Taylor Smith, who works for the nonprofit organization World Renew, looked at the run-down porn shop and saw a place they could realize their dreams.
“We told them that we wanted all the magazines out. They asked us if we wanted to keep it, but we were like, 'Nope, we’ll just get rid of it,'" Stephen Smith said.
The young couple, who are expecting a baby in July, are transforming the Capri No. 3 into an art gallery called Muse GR.
“He just felt like he wanted a place where he could be a photographer but be creative and have a community feel, so we felt like let’s find a place where we could do that," Taylor Smith said.
They started looking for a spot two years ago, found it a year ago and have been working on it intensely for the last six months. They stripped it down to studs, getting rid of all the unsavory aspects of the former bookstore, including a secret room labeled the "massage room."