Page 86 - All About History - Issue 54-17

PAINTED LADIES
Nearly every town in the West, from small mining
camps to large metropolises, featured a bawdy
house or two. Some bordellos were no more than a
‘crib’, a small shack with one or two rooms. Others
functioned above saloons, while palatial ‘parlour
houses’ featured entertainment, dining, games of
chance and a slew of pretty girls upstairs.
In the case of cribs and saloons, the owner
was often a man who rented the girls and took
a hefty percentage of their earnings. This was
also true in dance halls, where the dancers were
required to entice customers into buying drinks
by dancing and perhaps obtaining other services
in private rooms upstairs or in the back. Madams
were also known to rent cribs to the girls, who
The Fashion Saloon in Jerome, Arizona, lived and entertained their customers in their
was one of the best-known resorts in town
small apartments.
Parlour houses were also run by madams,
“SOME PLACES EVEN WENT SO FAR who either owned their property or leased
it from the landlord, often a prominent city
AS TO SERVE A FREE LUNCH WITH THE businessman. In Prescott, Arizona, Mayor
Morris Goldwater owned the former brothel
PURCHASE OF ONE OR MORE DRINKS” of Madam Annie Hamilton. In larger cities
like Butte, Montana, and San Francisco’s Barbary
Coast, parlour house girls often lived elsewhere and
customers might not care to sit through the entire old days could still view the real can-can being worked in shifts. In the mining towns, however, the
show. In the Theatre Comique’s case in 1875, one performed at Mahogany Hall. girls lived on site, keeping their personal belongings
drunken customer was beaten with a board by an Around the turn of the 20th century, boxing and sometimes a small dog or cat in the rooms
actress after he insulted her. “After pounding him also became a huge draw for men looking for some where they worked.
to her heart’s content, she leaped back upon the action. Jack Dempsey fought one of his first bouts in ‘Soiled doves’ were generally ostracised by
stage, and the play went on swimmingly,” reported Victor. Later, he also fought at the Ramona Athletic decent society. They were required to pay monthly
one local newspaper. Club in the short-lived town of Ramona, Colorado. fines and were often subjected to arrest and jail
In their efforts to squelch drinking, gambling After Colorado City outlawed liquor in 1913, time. Most were instructed to use the back door
and prostitution in their midst, certain city Ramona was founded exclusively to house saloons when entering theatres and some other public
authorities outlawed women from saloons. In 1882, and gambling houses. The local newspaper, the places, and many were only permitted to shop
in Shakespeare, New Mexico, one clever saloon Colorado City Iris, said that the “booze annex […] downtown on one day of the week. On those days,
owner found a way around the law prohibiting opened in a blaze of glory”, but it soon dried up ‘proper’ women stayed at home and did laundry
women from entering his place: he simply pushed after Prohibition was extended state-wide in 1916. to prevent making contact with any harlots. A few
the piano up to the window, whereby his female The town — which had 49 permanent residents at managed to marry well and were able to leave the
musician could reach through it and play while its start — did try to struggle on, but it just couldn’t profession, but if a girl died of disease, overdose or
standing outside. draw the same crowds with only restaurants, even suicide, her family would usually refuse to come to
Similar laws prohibiting female performers were with periodic boxing matches. claim the body.
eventually challenged by the ladies themselves, and
many of the ordinances were overturned. Nobody Whiskey bottles are displayed at the Jerome
could deny Grace Bartell, who took the popular Historical Society museum in Arizona
nickname ‘Little Egypt’, when she performed her
famous belly dance at the Birdcage Theatre in
Tombstone, Arizona, in 1893! Grace went on to have
quite a lengthy career; in 1910 she also performed at
the famed Palace Saloon in Prescott, Arizona.
During the gay 1890s, the entertainment
industry had grown to include more ‘variety
artists’. Because women of the stage sometimes
sold sex on the side, mingling with actors in
general was often something that was frowned
upon by decent society. The cleaner acts, however,
included performers such as Lottie and Polly
Oatley. They had a small dog named Tiny, who
sang along with them in a soprano voice. In
Cleo and Hattie Fay, with their male
1896, the girls performed at the Regina Saloon companion, put on such a risqué show
in Dawson, Alaska, as well as in Victor, Colorado. that they were actually asked to leave
the stage in Victor, Colorado
In nearby Cripple Creek, those longing for the good
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