Eve's Garden, New York

Dell Williams, founder and groundskeeper of Eve's Garden, has stocked her discreet boutique with erotic and sensual wares since 1974. An advocate for women's sexual freedom, Dell has written pieces that have made their way into the filing cabinets at Cornell University, and her acting talents have graced stages in productions of Eve Ensler's The Vagina Monologues. The shop's shelves reflect her celebration of female sexuality with vibrating and inert accessories and books by Vibratex, We-Vibe, and Je Joue that enlighten ladies as to their bodies' capacities for pleasure. Located on the 12th floor of a midtown Manhattan office building, Eve's Garden proffers a private shopping experience away from the prying eyes of street-level pedestrians and judgmental pigeons.