Oasis Bordello Museum a labor of love

WALLACE — For the past two years, the Oasis Bordello Museum in Wallace stood still.

The only memories of the brothel and the women who worked there could be viewed by peeking through the large front windows.

This changed with Leigh Lutich Ligenza, who couldn’t bear to see the building standing alone any longer.

Ligenza knew she wanted to do something with the museum and quickly went to work reopening it.

“I talked with the current owner when I saw him and asked what he was going to do with the building," Ligenza said. "He wasn’t sure. I told him whatever happens, I want to be a part of it.”

A deal was struck, and Ligenza swiftly began cleaning, maintaining and setting up the museum. In May, the Oasis once again opened its doors.

“The outside of the building can’t have any changes, but I’m going to update the inside," she said. "The Barnard-Stockbridge Museum has some really beautiful photos of some of the madams and ladies that worked here, and I would love to display them.”

Restoring life to the Oasis Bordello Museum is a major labor of love for Ligenza.

"One of the things that’s personally important to me is that whoever runs this place humanizes the girls," she said. "It’s fun to have people come in and make jokes. I do enjoy that part of the banter."

But at the end of it all, she said she wants people to understand that many young girls experience some form of abuse.

"And they end up in this type of work," Ligenza said. "I don’t want to exploit them.”

The building itself was originally built in 1895, serving the town of Wallace as a hotel and saloon. Throughout the years, Wallace eventually became the center of one of the world's richest silver mining districts where men outnumbered women 200-1.

Commercial sex was not new to the town of Wallace. Articles in The Wallace Free Press spoke of “individuals of feminine gender who flaunt their festering identity in the face of public decency” as far back as 1877.

Local police turned a blind eye to this technically illegal operation, as mining and sex work supported the town. The Oasis would often have five girls work about 16 hours a day, which resulted in estimated profits of about $1 million per year.

The building served as an active bordello with five other brothels until Sept. 29, 1988, when signs and padlocks appeared on the doors as the FBI raided and shut down the popular businesses.

As the story goes, the occupants of the bordello left hastily, leaving personal items, furnishings, food in the cupboards and more. The building was later bought in 1993 and turned into a museum.

When the museum first opened, the items inside were kept just as they were left to show how the ladies lived.

Because the building sat untouched for two years, Ligenza knew she had cleaning and maintenance to do.

“I tried to clean the curtains that were hanging in the bedrooms and they simply disintegrated,” Ligenza said. “I also took some things upstairs out of drawers to display, because I think their items should be viewed.”

During the process of cleaning and cataloging the items in the museum, Ligenza found intriguing documents she is planning to display and let people peruse.

When asked what the documents contain, Ligenza smiled.

“If I say that and it’s published, it wouldn’t be a surprise," she said.

Surprises are important to Ligenza, as she also asks that photos of the rooms are not taken.

“I don’t want somebody to see it online," she said. "I want them to see it for the first time in person.”

Although updates have been made, the original feel of the museum remains the same. Looking toward the future, Ligenza has exciting plans of creating new merchandise and setting up the jukebox and intercom system upstairs.

“There’s still a lot of damage that needs to be fixed, but we need the funds to do it," she said. "Eventually, I would also like to obtain a beer and wine license and have special events here.”

The Oasis Bordello Museum is at 605 Cedar St., Wallace. It is open Wednesday through Saturday, with tours running every hour on the hour from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday and Tuesday visits can be arranged by appointment only.