Everything must go, even the torture rack
For just $385, you could have walked out of San Francisco’s historic Armory with a torture rack Saturday.
The 6-foot human hamster wheel was already taken.
The old school device, officially known as a wooden bondage stretcher, was the headliner on day two of Kink.com’s somewhat kinky garage sale. The pornography production company is moving out of the Mission Street brick landmark after 10 years, and everything must go.
So now, hundreds of items ranging from everyday furniture and antiques to costumes and sex toys were up for sale this weekend. The sale continues Sunday and Monday.
“It is the end of an era, but Kink is still living on,” said Tatiana Zaricos, an administrator for Armory Events. “The Armory is a special place to everyone.”
An affiliate of AJ Capital Partners, which is based in Chicago, recently bought the 200,000square-foot brick behemoth for $65 million. On Saturday, dozens of shoppers walked through to see which of Kink’s old props were left for sale.
It was a more mellow crowd than the day before, said Kevin Black, a proprietor running the sale who described Friday as a “mob scene.”
“People were out in the rain lined up all the way to Mission Street down the block, all with umbrellas,” Black said. “That’s how much they wanted to get in.”
Shoppers left with around one-third of the available merchandise Friday, Black said, including a coveted human hamster wheel that a few purchasers were bidding over. A couple ended up getting it for $400, he said.
On Saturday, Dee Wagner of Oakland stood near the checkout holding a a pair of black heels, a bandanna and an 8-inch butt plug still in the packaging.
“I wish I had space for the torture rack,” Wagner said.
But Wagner came to the garage sale more to say goodbye to the old space.
“Kink.com has been really important to my sexual development, to my personal development,” Wagner said. “It’s still a little heartbreaking just seeing a piece of history go.”
Downstairs, shoppers walked into a dimly hit hall. At the top of the hall, an old Lyon & Healy piano was on sale for $125. At the end, people tried to crank one of the handles on the torture rack.
Megan Kierstead, a Berkeley resident, came to find some black-andwhite artwork. But she said she couldn’t help but feel a little sentimental.
“We’re sad to see the institution go,” she said.
Back upstairs, people walked through a random assortment of old paintings and furniture. One box contained only old hangers. Another had half-fold toilet seat covers.
“Found my treasure,” one shopper said as he reserved an old pair of hanging lamps.
Oakland resident Treigh Love “was really, really wanting some taxidermy,” but instead took a handful of old lampshades.
“I’m an art director,” Love said. “I shoot commercials and music videos, so I always need interesting stuff.”
She continued to scan the room, mulling over whether to buy an old dentist chair as a gift for a friend.
Shawn Riney of San Francisco searched for new additions to his collection of Gothic antiques. He ended up with a pair of funeral home candleholders for $2.
“I can only imagine how these were used,” he said with a grin.
“There’s somebody I know who was here to buy a cadaver’s table,” Riney said. “It brings out all types.”
Just a few minutes later, someone bought a veterinary autopsy table for $125.