The Vices of 25th Street

The Vices of 25th Street. . "The rail road is going to make a great change in affairs here, and our people should moderate their expectations and prepare themselves for the alteration which appears inevitable." (May 21, 1868, Deseret News) , , To the original settlers of Ogden, this was an understatement. Nowhere were such changes more evident than on 25th Street, also known as "two-bit" street. (Two bits stood for both 25 cents and something cheap.) , , Prostitution, gambling, drugs and other vices abounded. While not isolated to 25th Street, gambling could be found in the basements or back rooms of many businesses, especially in the street's taverns and clubs. Police raids on these operations were as common as the games themselves. , , (photo captions) Machines seized in a gambling raid on 25th Street are displayed as evidence. Of such police raids, many occured between 1948 and 1955. , , Encouraging Intemperance , There were three legendary madams associated with 25th Street. "Gentile Kate" the first to appear on the scene, operated an establishment at 150 25th Street. Author Bensard De Voto wrote of her, "She was a respected part of the business life of town, a speculator in real estate the most liberal customer of the stores... and an unofficial great lady." , , In the early 1900s, Kate was followed by the incredibly profitable able "Belle London," (shown right) whose real was name Mrs. Dora Belle Tophan. Belle considered herself a reformer. In 1908, Salt Lake City actually requested Belle's service to establish a more controlled area of prostitution. The Ogden Standard Examiner, in an article on March 22, 1910, reported Belle as saying, "I am the greatest woman reformer in the world...when you know me and the grand work of reform that I am doing, you will hold me high in your esteem. Among many other buildings, Belle's "furnished rooms" (or places of prostitution) included the Marion Hotel and Electric Alley, a series of single story two-room units along the alley behind the north side of 25th Street. The string of lights down the alley gave it its name. , , The third famous madam of 25th Street was Rossette Davie, who ran operations there in the 1940s and early 50s until she was arrested during a crackdown on intemperance. Her operations included the Rose Rooms at 205 25th Street, the Denver Hotel, the Wilcox Hotel and the La Siesta at 277 25th Street. Rose wasn't shy about her success-she commonly walked the street with her leashed ocelot and drove a rose-colored Cadillac. She dressed in only the finest clothes, and for that reason, the ladies at Samuel's, a local women's clothing store, loved to see her out and about. , , There were many more areas of known prostitution operated by others during these time periods on 25th Street. These included the Reed Colorado Hotel at 206-208, the Marlene Rooms at 246, the Hyland Hotel at 276 and the Wyoming Rooms at 236. , , Overindulgent Living , A Standard Examiner article on November 13, 1917 indicated there were also drug problems. One report stated, "Soo Wah, an aged Chinaman, was fined $25 in police court today, when he plead guilty to the charge of maintaining a place where opium and yen-shee are sold...Owing to the fact that he is 84 years old and so addicted to the drug habit that being deprived of it would undoubtedly end seriously, he was imposed as a warning that he was not restrained from its use. The fine was imposed as a warning that he must not dispose of it to others."