South Side in Billings in Yellowstone County, Montana — The American West (Mountains)

Houses of Ill Repute

Billings' Red Light District

Photographed By Barry Swackhamer, September 15, 2020

1. Houses of Ill Repute Marker

Captions: (bottom left) Olive Warren left Denver's red light district to create the Lucky Diamond at 2512 Minnesota Avenue, around 1900. She continued to operate this house of ill repute until her death in 1942. Her final resting place is the prominent mausoleum at Mountainview Cemetery.; (bottom center L) A 1903 Sanborn Fire Insurance map shows the "female boarding houses" in the 2400 block of Minnesota Avenue. Nellie Dalton's The Hub, Dutch Mary's Place, Victoria Kirk's The Mexico, and Kittie Evan's The Palace lined Minnesota Avenue's Restricted District.; (bottom center R) Announcement of the arrest of a "soiled dove," February 20, 1903.; (bottom left) News from the Restricted District on Minnesota Ave., July 15, 1917.

Inscription. Across the railroad tracks on Minnesota Avenue was Billings' primary prostitution area, known as the "Red Light District" or "Restricted District." Saloons and "female boarding houses" occupied four blocks east of South 27th in the early 1900s. Parlor houses, often run by recognizable madams, offered higher profits, protection from police harassment, and a more independent lifestyle. Lower paying customers often solicited sex at cribs and on the streets. Prostitutes often married several times, changed their names frequently and lived lives filled with violence, drugs, alcohol, and infectious diseases.
Local public ordinances prohibiting prostitution slowed the practice through steep fines, often filling the coffers of the city budget. With concern over the spread of venereal diseases among the soldiers during World War I and WW II, civic leaders became less tolerant and more punitive of the restricted district, but telephones and automobiles made the sex trade more mobile and discreet than ever.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Entertainment • Law Enforcement.

Location. 45° 47.025′ N, 108° 29.94′ W. Marker is in Billings, Montana, in Yellowstone County. It is in the South Side. Marker can be reached

Paid Advertisement

Click on the ad for more information.
Please report objectionable advertising to the Editor.

Click or scan to see
this page online

from Montana Avenue (Business Interstate 90) near North 23rd Street, on the right when traveling east. The marker is found on the fence paralleling the railroad tracks. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 2310 Montana Avenue, Billings MT 59101, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. All We Need is Some Water (a few steps from this marker); Black Gold (a few steps from this marker); The College Life (a few steps from this marker); Billings Clinic: Healthcare on the Frontier (a few steps from this marker); St. Vincent Healthcare (a few steps from this marker); Coal in the Treasure State (a few steps from this marker); Ranching on the Plains (a few steps from this marker); Teddy Roosevelt Visits the Depot - 1918 (a few steps from this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Billings.

Additional keywords. prostitution

Photographed By Barry Swackhamer, September 15, 2020

2. Houses of Ill Repute Marker

The marker is located on the fence line.

Credits. This page was last revised on February 16, 2023. It was originally submitted on March 15, 2021, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California. This page has been viewed 411 times since then and 100 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on March 15, 2021, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California.