VERNON, N.J. — The club evoked an air of exclusivity by design. A thicket of trees shielded the Playboy Club from public view, and it was set at the end of a long driveway, reachable only by winding country roads. Members had to show a card — a key, they called it — to get inside, where, in its prime, stars like Frank Sinatra and Ann-Margret performed and women in bikinis and bunny ears served drinks by the pool.
Decades later, though, any sign of that glitz is long gone. Much of the building, which housed the club and a hotel, has been sealed off for years, left to gradually be swallowed by encroaching woods. Roaches dart into crevices and bats and other vermin have sneaked inside. Yet in dozens of its rooms, there are people who consider the old club home.
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