Well now… if you’ve ever stood on Mercury Street in Butte, Montana, and felt the air get a little heavier near Venus Alley, you ain’t alone.

I’ve lumbered past that brick building at 45 East Mercury Street more times than I can count. And let me tell you — the Dumas Brothel ain’t just a “haunted house” story for tourists with flashlights. It’s one of the last standing, physical records of Butte’s red-light district. It’s brick, timber, iron, and hard truths stacked on top of each other.

So tonight, we’re doing this right.

We’re separating what’s documented history from what’s folklore. Because if we’re gonna talk about the Dumas, we owe it that much.

Butte’s Red-Light District: How It Took Root on Mercury Street

Before ghost tours and paranormal podcasts, there was copper money.

In the late 1800s, Butte wasn’t just a mining town. It was one of the biggest boomtowns in the West. And where miners go, businesses follow — legal and otherwise.

According to the National Park Service registration for the Butte–Anaconda Historic District, prostitution was a major industry in western mining towns. In Butte, it concentrated between Park and Mercury Streets, stretching behind Main to Arizona Street. The district operated almost uninterrupted for decades.

By about 1900, Mercury Street had large brick “parlor houses” that looked respectable from the front. However, behind them, tightly packed “cribs” lined the alleys. Solicitation gradually shifted from the main streets into the alley between Mercury and Galena — what we now call Venus Alley.

The NPS documentation even mentions the infamous “Green Board Fence,” built to shield activity from public view.

In other words, Butte didn’t hide it — it managed it.

And the Dumas? It stood right in the middle of it all.

1890: The Dumas Is Built

The Dumas — sometimes called the Dumas Hotel — was built in 1890 at 45 E. Mercury Street.

Historian Ellen Baumler documents that Joseph and Arthur Nadeau built the structure, and early ownership was listed under Delia Nadeau, Joseph’s wife. It was purpose-built as a parlor house — not retrofitted later.

That matters.

This wasn’t accidental vice. It was planned architecture inside an accepted economic system.

Upstairs? Parlors and better-furnished rooms.
Downstairs? Basement cribs — small, narrow spaces with barely enough room to turn around.

Baumler describes tight passageways that “reeked” of hair oil, cheap perfume, and disinfectant. Not glamorous. Not romantic. Just real.

Life “On the Line”: Glamour and Grit in Butte’s Vice Economy

Now here’s where folks get it twisted.

The Dumas wasn’t just scandal. It was labor.

Walking tour materials and preservation records describe a clear hierarchy — from high-end parlor rooms upstairs to cramped basement cribs. Women in high-class houses were expected to dress beautifully, often at their own expense. Many fell deep into debt.

The district involved women of “all ages, races, and backgrounds.” Some sources even reference girls “from sixteen up,” which reminds us that exploitation was part of the system — not a footnote.

So while some visitors want to imagine silk sheets and champagne, the real story includes:

• Debt cycles
• Limited job options
• Violence
• Social isolation
• Hidden pregnancies and adoption

There was glamour and brutality. Sometimes in the same hallway.

And that tension is why the Dumas hits people in the gut.

1943: The Cribs Close — But the Dumas Doesn’t

In 1943, wartime public health pressure shut down the alley cribs.

However, the Dumas kept operating — more quietly.

Baumler documents that it functioned under the guise of a “rooming house” or “hotel.” Steel plates reportedly covered alley-facing crib doors and windows. Security got heavier.

By the 1950s and 1960s, Venus Alley had picked up rougher nicknames — including “Piss Alley.” A pay phone appeared in the building. Rooms were remodeled.

The district didn’t disappear overnight.

It adapted.

1971–1982: Ruby Garrett and the End of an Era

In 1971, Ruby Garrett returned to Butte and bought the Dumas.

Baumler reports that Garrett claimed she paid local police officers $200–$300 per month for silence. Customers reportedly paid about $20 during that era.

Now whether folks like that arrangement or not, it shows something important: prostitution in Butte wasn’t hidden — it was tolerated and managed.

That changed fast.

On October 3, 1981, an armed robbery occurred at 45 East Mercury. The incident is referenced in the Montana Supreme Court case State v. Madera. That robbery triggered scrutiny.

Soon after, Garrett was charged with federal income tax evasion, convicted, and sentenced to six months. She agreed to close the Dumas and pay back taxes.

By 1982, prostitution “as Butte had known it” was over.

That’s the hard stop.

1990: The Museum Era Begins

In 1990, Rudy Giecek purchased the Dumas.

A Montana Department of Labor & Industry decision confirms he operated the Dumas Brothel Museum and attempted restoration. He also ran a photo studio and antiques mall inside the building.

This wasn’t a frozen-in-time shrine.

It was preservation mixed with survival.

Baumler notes that when Giecek bought the property, many rooms remained remarkably undisturbed. Artifacts survived because the building hadn’t been cleaned out like a typical business closure.

Timers. Bottles. Call buttons.

Material history still sitting where it was left.

Ownership Changes, Restoration, and Tax Sale

The late 1990s brought a purchase agreement involving ISWFACE (Norma Jean Almodovar), documented in the same state hearings decision.

Then, in the 2010s, new owners attempted structural rehabilitation. NBC Montana reported debris removal, rotting plaster repair, foundation breaks, and efforts to secure a URA loan.

In 2018, the property was sold at a tax deed auction for $29,000 to David and Charlee Prince of Forsyth, according to the Associated Press.

By 2019, the Princes discussed restoring portions to their “original luxury” and emphasized tours and paranormal investigations.

Today, the Dumas continues operating as a historic site and paranormal destination under current ownership.

The Ghost Stories of Venus Alley (Folklore, Not Fact)

Now let’s dim the lantern a bit.

These stories are culturally real. However, they are not court records.

The Woman With the Suitcase

Southwest Montana Travel recounts the story of Elinor Knott, a madam said to have planned to leave town with a lover in 1955. Her death was reportedly ruled natural causes, though rumors of suicide or murder linger.

Visitors and employees have described seeing a woman carrying a suitcase on the stairs.

There is no contemporaneous death certificate cited in the tourism write-up. Therefore, the details remain folklore unless verified through vital records.

The Artist Who Couldn’t Stop Painting

Another story tells of an artist who stayed upstairs and felt compelled to paint a woman’s face over and over until abandoning the room.

Documented? No.

Repeated often? Yes.

Voices and “Haunted Rooms”

NBC Montana reports that current owners conduct paranormal investigations and describe hearing voices or identifying a “most haunted room.”

Solid fact: They conduct paranormal events.
Unproven claim: Ghosts.

See the difference? That’s how we keep it honest.

Why the Dumas Feels Haunted — Even If You Don’t Believe

You put people in:

• Tight basement corridors
• Light-filled skylight rooms upstairs
• A building layered with secrecy
• A documented robbery
• Decades of hidden labor

And you get atmosphere.

Even if you don’t believe in spirits, you can believe in memory.

Buildings remember how they were used.

And the Dumas remembers everything.

Frequently Asked Questions About the Dumas Brothel in Butte, Montana

Is the Dumas Brothel really haunted?

That depends on who you ask. Ghost stories are widely shared, but no empirical evidence confirms paranormal activity.

Can you tour the Dumas Brothel?

Yes. Tours and paranormal events have been offered under current ownership. Check the official Dumas Brothel website for current access details.

When did prostitution end in Butte?

Prostitution at the Dumas ended in 1982 following Ruby Garrett’s tax evasion conviction.

Where is Venus Alley?

Venus Alley runs between Mercury and Galena Streets in historic Uptown Butte, Montana.

Final Thoughts From a Big, Hairy Local

The Dumas ain’t a cheap thrill.

It’s architecture. It’s labor history. It’s corruption, compromise, survival, and adaptation. It’s Butte in brick form.

Sure, people come for the ghosts.

But they stay because the walls still whisper about copper money, hard winters, working women, and a town that looked the other way — until it didn’t.

That’s the real story.

And that one’s documented.

Sources

1) National Park Service (NPS) — Butte–Anaconda Historic District nomination (PDF)
https://npgallery.nps.gov/pdfhost/docs/NHLS/Text/66000438.pdf

(Alternate host copy from Butte-Silver Bow, if you prefer)
https://co.silverbow.mt.us/DocumentCenter/View/22605/Butte-Anaconda-NHL-nomination

2) Ellen Baumler (Montana Historical Society Education) — “Devil’s Perch: Prostitution from Suite to Cellar in Butte, Montana”
https://mhs.mt.gov/education/CirGuides/buttearticbaumler

3) “Butte’s Red Light District: A Walking Tour” (PDF) — Montana Women’s History
https://montanawomenshistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/ButteWalkingTour12_2013_Rev.pdf

4) Montana Dept. of Labor & Industry Hearing Decision (PDF) — Giecek v. ISWFACE (Decision 524-2001)
https://dli.mt.gov/hearings/decisions/2002/_docs/whdec524_2001.pdf

5) Montana court case — State v. Madera (Justia HTML page)
https://law.justia.com/cases/montana/supreme-court/1983/b12efce0-04e0-4b79-b594-fffe881a4457.html

(Direct PDF of the Justia copy)
https://cases.justia.com/montana/supreme-court/1983-10-06-B12EFCE0-04E0-4B79-B594-FFFE881A4457.pdf

(Alt free-access legal archive — CourtListener / Free Law Project)
https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/878068/state-v-madera/

6) NBC Montana — “New owners showcase history of old Dumas Brothel” (Montana Moment)
https://nbcmontana.com/news/local/new-owners-showcase-history-of-old-dumas-brothel

7) NBC Montana — “Dumas Brothel applies for URA loan”
https://nbcmontana.com/news/local/dumas-brothel-applies-for-ura-loan_20160509144423637

8) Associated Press — “Butte’s historic Dumas Brothel auctioned for $29K” (APNews)
https://apnews.com/c43ec4b2c99a4d4b8e812bec44bd9958

9) Official Dumas Brothel site (current owners, tours / events)
https://dumasbrothel.com/

10) Southwest Montana Travel — Dumas Brothel ghost story page (suitcase woman)
https://southwestmt.com/ghosts/ghost-stories/dumas-brothel-hotel/

Bonus (public-domain / CC image sources you mentioned):

11) Library of Congress — “Entrance to Venus Alley, Butte, Montana” (Arthur Rothstein, 1939)
https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2017724977/

12) Library of Congress — “A bedroom in the infamous Dumas Hotel…” (Carol M. Highsmith, 2022)
https://www.loc.gov/item/2023698281/

13) Wikimedia Commons — Dumas Brothel image (CC BY-SA 4.0)
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dumas_Brothel,_Butte,_Montana.jpg