Created for Praise Shadows’ reopening in Downtown Boston, Duke Riley was inspired by his nostalgia of the Boston of his youth, in particular the area formerly known as the Combat Zone. Centered on Washington Street between Boylston and Kneeland, the area was the site of strip clubs, peep shows, X-rated movie theaters, and adult bookstores. The stories were always memorable. Playland Cafe (1937–1998), located at 21 Essex Street, was Boston's oldest gay bar. The Pilgrim Theater opened as Gordon’s Olympia Theatre in 1912 at 658 Washington Street. In the late 1970s when the theater was reborn as a "burlesque" house, the balcony was closed to the public after a priest was found dead by the cleaning crew. It closed in 1996, just before Riley left Boston for New York in 1997. In this painting, he relives its heyday with the marquee: “Praise Shadows Open All Night.”

This is a rare example of a painting by Riley, though the motifs recall his highly-praised scrimshaw, drawing and tattoo work.