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 To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html