From the Archives: A Night in the Life of the Condom Hut

With cameras for "Rubber Hut" rolling in Cranston and Warwick this week, we're taking a look back at the iconic Rhode Island Institution that inspired the film.

8 hours ago

Site Staff,

Note: This article was first printed in the December 1992 issue of Rhode Island Monthly.

It’s been in Time magazine, for crying out loud. We wanted to know the what the real story was behind Cranston’s Condom Hut, the former Fotomat kiosk now offering drive-through condom sales. So we sent a truly intrepid reporter to the Cardi’s Shopping Center on Park Avenue to spend a Saturday night among the prophylactics. Here’s her diary:

6:15 p.m.

Arrive at the Condom Hut and meet Emanuella Del Vecchio, owner. In addition to basic offerings, the Hut carries novelty condoms (for fun only, not FDA approved) such as Licks, Suck’rs, Knight Light (glows in the dark), and Peter Meter (has inch markings up the side).

6:25 p.m.

Chevy Nova pulls up, then drives on without a word.

7:30 p.m.

The Nova returns. A woman in her sixties and her daughter ask to use the phone. Daughter gets on the phone. “You’re not going to believe where we are,” she says. Meanwhile, mother examines the condoms. The two agree to buy one for a female friend. Mother puts the condom under her coat. Daughter suggests they buy a flavored condom for father.

7:40 p.m.

Nissan Stanza carrying four middle-aged adults drives through without stopping.

7:45 p.m.

Gray Saab carrying a man, woman, and poodle drives up, pauses, and moves on.

7:53 p.m.

Same Saab passes by again.

8:00 p.m.

Couple in their thirties walk over. Woman does all the talking. She buys a condom wrapped to look like a gold coin and asks how business is.

8:10 p.m.

Four adults in a Volvo drive by slowly. They wave.

8:20 p.m.

Two women, early twenties, drive up in a Toyota Celica. The passenger does all the talking, in a thick Rhode Island accent. She says she already has a condom, which she pulls from her wallet and shows us, but wants another so she’ll have one to use and one for the novelty.

8:25 p.m.

Man in a Mazda RX-7 rolls by, pausing to look.

8:40 p.m.

White Ford Escort pulls up. Man in his twenties wearing a wedding band asks for a non-lubricated. He buys two packages of Touch condoms and pulls away. His car bucks and stalls. He blushes, revs the engine, and drives off.