Pioneer Bar and Brothel

Pioneer Bar and Brothel

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1882. 118 W. 2nd St.

The oldest continually operating brothel in Colorado died in 1970 with its last madam, Hazel Gillette “Ma” Brown, who wore cat's-eye spectacles set with real diamonds. Her house, built as the Pioneer Billiard Hall, is a two-story brick structure with rough stone quoins, banding, and window trim. It has a metal frieze and dentiled cornice with a rectangular parapet hiding behind a neon sign. A separate corner entrance leads to the upstairs rooms of this abandoned, decaying bordello. Next door is the Pastime Club, the sole survivor of some twenty-five saloons on once-notorious West 2nd Street.

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