CPR's MOST THREATENED PLACES for 2007

Dumas Brothel

Butte CPR, a 501(c)3 non-profit, is actively seeking financial donations to save this important piece of Butte's history. To contribute, make checks payable to Butte CPR, and send to P.O. Box 164 • Butte, Montana 59703. THANKS!

Back to Threatened Places page

PRESS RELEASE: July 13, 2007:
Curt Buttons makes major donation for Dumas preservation

Butte Citizens for Preservation and Revitalization announced a $20,000 gift from Butte native Curt Buttons, earmarked for the CPR to seek contractors to perform major roof and structural work on the 1890 Dumas Brothel. Montana Standard article • another article
Montana Standard editorial

UPDATE FEB.2008: Curt Buttons has donated an additional $10,000 to help Butte CPR Save the Dumas. THANKS CURT!

Curt's generous donation will be used by Butte CPR to pay for critically needed repairs, including structural brick and foundation work. "Our goal is to save the building. Without a new roof and foundation repair, this important building will rapidly deteriorate," CPR President Larry Smith said, adding that Curt's gift was the spark that made the effort possible.

Owner Rudy Giecek has encouraged the CPR's efforts in the project, expected to cost at least $40,000. The CPR will administer and manage finances and oversee repairs, and is actively seeking donations including private support as well as local agency funding and matching. In addition to Curt Buttons' contribution, Butte CPR received $1300 raised by Susan Roberts' pass-the-hat production of "Scarlet Ribbons" and $250 from an anonymous donor.

Scarlet Ribbons by Susan Roberts
Monologues by Butte's Sportin' Women, Circa 1890s - June 7-8-9th at 7 p.m., matinee Sat. at 2 p.m. in the Dead Cat Cafe of the Covellite Theatre, 215 W. Broadway in Uptown Butte. A pass-the-hat fundraiser to fix the roof of the Dumas Brothel.
UPDATE: $1300 raised!
Montana Standard article
The Dumas' roof is leaking badly, about 10 feet of an originally exterior, load-bearing masonry wall is collapsing, and roofing is separating from brick parapets, allowing moisture into the exterior wall structures. The goal is to fix the foundation, stabilize the structure, and install a new roof.

Butte CPR is nominating the Dumas to the Montana Preservation Alliance's "Most Threatened" list for 2007. The MPA has listed the Dumas in the past, but the threat to the building is much greater today than it has ever been.

All Dumas photos on this page are available for media use (see also photo gallery below).
Contact Dick Gibson, rigibson@earthlink.net for high-resolution versions.
Credit: "Richard Gibson, buttecpr.org".
Letter in MT Standard from Georgia about the Dumas
Montana Standard article
CPR's 2007 Brick Workshop was held at the Dumas in July.

OVERVIEW

The Dumas Brothel is the only surviving three-story Victorian brothel in the U.S. It was built in 1890 as a bordello and operated until 1982, and it is a vital contributing element of the newly expanded Butte-Anaconda-Walkerville National Historic Landmark District. The building's roof is failing, and supporting masonry and brick-clad walls are crumbling and in places are separating from the main structure. The threat is severe. The solution is an infusion of significant money, either through a new, motivated owner, or grants to the present owner who has no funds for repair or maintenance.

SITE’S SIGNIFICANCE

The largest and longest-running house of prostitution (illegally for much of its life) in the US, the Dumas was built as a brothel in 1890 and closed in 1982; it operated as a museum from the 1990s to 2004. We believe this building is the last surviving example of Victorian Brothel style architecture in the US. It still has tiny cribs in the basement, several parlors, and central oval hallways lined by rooms for guests that overlook the first floor, and skylights above the central area. The building was reported to be connected to the central business district by underground tunnels. It is the only 3-story brothel remaining in the heart of Butte's once thriving red-light district, the second largest in the West (after San Francisco's Barbary Coast). The structure is a critical contributing element of the Butte-Anaconda-Walkerville NHLD, now the nation's largest. The stories this building tells are integral to the cultural history of Butte.

THE SITE’S THREAT

The roof is failing, and many sections of original brickwork are crumbling; sections of walls are pulling apart from the main structure. An interior load-bearing masonry wall is collapsing. Roofing is separating from brick parapets, allowing moisture into the exterior wall structures. The rate of decay has increased in the past 4 years, and especially in the past 2 years since the building has been closed and ignored. The owner's lack of funds for the necessary significant repairs, and even for routine maintenance preclude protection. The structure is threatened seriously, both in the interior and in terms of structural stability.

ADVOCACY AND ENGAGEMENT

Volunteers from Butte Citizens for Preservation and Revitalization (Butte CPR) and especially Silverbow Properties have (with the owner's permission) done and will do (weather permitting) some stop-gap emergency work on the roof. (see photo gallery of the work, below) Lack of funds prevents full or even significant partial success, and this work only addresses preventing water damage to the interior. The serious structural problems remain unaddressed for lack of funds.

Community and national support could consist of any of the following:

Donations to generate effective advertising to find a motivated and historic-preservation oriented buyer
Public and city government education (letter writing, speaking at council meetings) as to the potential loss
Rallying of support from local residents for a well-known building, hopefully leading to donations to a group like Butte CPR to provide more emergency stop-gap work

If emergency efforts to stabilize the building could be funded, cultural tourism and promotion cosponsored by the National Trust for Historic Preservation in concert with exisiting groups such as Old Butte Historical Adventures (guided walking tours) and Butte Citizens for Preservation and Revitalization (advocacy, historic preservation education, and educational tours) could generate funds for ongoing restoration and preservation by returning the Dumas to its status as a museum (1990s-2004).

Dumas Brothel web site (WARNING: This link goes to pages with entertaining but loud music)
Dumas Brothel on Ebay (Auction closed; for information only)