That's really rather interesting, considering there's no hard evidence that
the original Pleasure House, two hundred years ago, was actually a brothel -
the enterprising madam in the 1920s evidently decided to capitalise on the
name, the aura and the folk tradition.

John Weiss

----- Original Message -----
From: "Stephan A. Schwartz" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Wednesday, July 02, 2003 5:09 AM
Subject: Re: Pleasure House on Lynhaven Bay, 1814


: Pleasure House Road, I am informed by an elderly woman who has lived on
the
: Thalia waterfront (the section where the pleasure house is located, was
the
: road one took to get to well... exactly that... a brothel.   It was built
by
: a somewhat mysterious madam, back in the 20s, and was a very popular stop
: with the power establishment of Tidewater, Virginia, as well as the
: Commonwealth at large, and its clientele came from as far away as New
York.
: As VaB developed, what had formerly been a popular out of the way get away
: became an embarrassment, and it was closed after WWII.  Steinhilbers
: Restaurant, which is nearby, was begun as the first Jewish country club,
: then taken over by the family that still runs it.  Originally they
provided
: meals and entertainment for those visiting the Pleasure House.  The
Madam's
: house, quite grand at the time is still to be seen.  It was apparently
built
: on the site of an earlier house, but this gets a bit murky.
:
: -- Stephan

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