7 Days a week
135 High Street
Ely, NV
Big 4 Ranch History
The west end of High Street has been an active location of brothels since Ely first became a real community in 1887 when the county seat was moved to Ely from Hamilton. By 1906, several brothels were built in the west end of town with individual rooms, dance halls, and saloons stretching three blocks on either side of High Street. Tom O'Neil's early day brothel was located where the present Armory building is situated at the end of Broadbent Park. The individual room was just big enough for a "Dutch" door and a tiny window. Each tiny room barely had enough room for a bed and a stove for warmth and heating water for washing. Remnants of some of the rooms may be seen today at this end of the street.
In about 1920, a fire started in the rear of Reinhart's Dance Hall and spread until almost all of the buildings in the block between High Street and the alley were destroyed. Only three or four small rooms fronting High and Second were left standing and they were damaged. Owners of the destroyed property were: Hugh Wilson, Walter, Robert Brady and Charles Aubry. The Chinese Restaurant was lost to fire too.
Three brothels are located in the notorious old "Bronc Alley - red light District" at the west end of High Street in Ely. These are the Big 4 Ranch, the Green Lantern established in 1959, and the Stardust Ranch established in 1965.
The oldest brothel in Ely is the Big 4 Ranch and the part of the building where the bar is located is thought to have been built in the early 1880's. This establishment was once called "Rainey's" in 1880. It was owned by Tom O'Neil for many years during the early 1900's. This business has had several names until around the 1930's when it gained the name Big 4 because four prominent businessmen purchased it and ran it. The proceeding owners have continued to call it by that name. Tony Asena was one of those owners during the 1970's. By 1959, the Big Four had enjoyed a decade or more of being the only brothel allowed to operate in Ely but was forced to close its doors for a time before parties who were fighting town hall managed to open a competing brothel, the Green Lantern.
Attorney E. R. "Boots" Miller had represented several individuals who had applied to the City of Ely Council members to establish more than one brothel in Ely. In Early December of 1958, Helen Smalley was denied permission to open a competing house of prostitution near the Big Four. Eddie O'Terry's application for the same purpose was also denied on June 19, 1959. Both applications would have built the proposed new brothel on land owned by Charles Fields.
At the end of June 1959, a complaint was filed and made to the County Commissioners by Charles "Babe" Fields charging that the Big 4 Club should be shut down at once as it was a public nuisance. The complaint stated the Big Four was being operated as a house of prostitution and additional rooms were being built for the purpose of "catering to business and professional people who do not wish to be seen publicly." Boots Miller stated at the City Hall Meeting in June that "Ely needs more of these places." The City fathers maintained "While houses of prostitution may be necessary and proper in a community such as Ely, this is not a business which should be expanded or built up." The City asked the Attorney General for a decision on the issue of closing down the only operating brothel on just one complaint and were advised they must shut the Big Four Club down even though it was brought forth by a potential competitors single complaint and had not had any problems in the past. Thus, the Big Four closed its doors. But, only temporarily.
The Green Lantern was built in the late fall of 1959 during the Mine Strike by Attorney E. R. "Boots" Miller and Eddie O'Terry after the City changed its mind about allowing more than one brothel to operate. Whispers persist that the spirit of a prostitute named "Betty" who was killed by a customer in the 1960's haunts the Green Lantern in a benevolent manner.
Original art painted by Boots Miller in the 1930's, decorated the walls of the brothel, and currently it hangs behind the bar. Boots stated that Frank Sinatra would often fly in to visit the establishment for privacy and to get away from the hustle and bustle of Las Vegas. The mural depicts scenes of men and women together, and its set in the Red Light District of Palace Pigalle, in Paris, France. If one looks closely at the female figures in the paining; they're all the same woman. The story goes that the woman in the mural was one of the working girls at the Big 4 Ranch, that Boots really liked.
On Wednesday, July 13, 1971 a fire was reported at 2:45 a. m. The firefighters gave their best efforts, but the original building was totally gutted. The establishment was closed down at the time. The origination of the fire was never determined but was believed to have started from a possible arson caused fire. The building was replaced by trailers put together. The lease was purchased by Kay Wade who sold to Johnny Forman who had married Kay's daughter Barbara.
The Green Lantern was closed down for a time in 1995 because the present management had kept prescription drugs prescribed to employees who had left the establishment and were dispensing them to present employees. Tom Reid now owns the establishment and he purchased the Big Four in 1998. The Green Lantern is not open at the present time.
The Stardust was built in 1965 and operated by Virginia Murphy. Eddie O'Terry added on to the building when he owned it for a short period. Then, it was sold to Carol Asena who renamed the business the Stardust Ranch. Asena sold the establishment about a decade ago to Stephanie Pleasants. It was sold in 1998 to Jim Walker and "Crystal" Cathy (Mrs. John) Burns who lost the business early in 1999. The property reverted back to Pleasants.
On August 1, 1999, the Stardust was the scene of a knifing murder when two non-English speaking Chilean national sheepherders working at local ranches and two Ely men had a confrontation. Joseph Bates, a construction worker was killed and John Christopher, 55, was seriously injured by multiple stab wounds. Patricio Osvaldo, 35, and Reginaldo Nestor (Tronoco), 41, were the attackers after being harassed by Bates and Christopher.
An interesting note: Much discussion of one of the Ely Council members wanting to close the brothel over the killing took place in public and the newspapers over an extended period of time. The councilman was also trying to shut the business down because of his religious views. The heated debate that occurred over some of his public statements regarding his views on the lack of the entire community's and individual moral values made state and national news and angered many people. The Bristlecone Convention Center became the scene of a crowd of people of around four hundred people who attended a public meeting to discuss the brothel's place in the community. Only thirty-three people spoke against letting the business to continue to operate. The vast majority were in favor of the brothel remaining open for many and varied reasons.
Many elderly people went up to the podium to speak about their positive memories of living in proximity to the brothels. One old man remembered that the brothel ladies fed and clothed him and his younger sister when the father had to work long hours at the mine and their mother had died when they were very young. Some spoke of the lessened crime statistics because of having legal prostitution. Dr. Jones, who was responsible for caring for the ladies of the night and making sure they passed their physicals and tests defended the businesses as did others from all over Nevada. Nearby business people stated the brothels never caused problems that they were aware of and were good neighbors.
Ms. Pleasants extended her stunned appreciation to the community for the all the support she publicly and privately received from so many people and the brothel remained open.
A little known fact: At Christmas time, vari-colored lights are strung diagonally across Aultman Street in Ely, Nevada. The last string of lights on the west end of the street is made up of all red bulbs and points to the brothel district. Because it is against the law to advertise brothels in White Pine County, this is a subtle way that the businesses are acknowledged.
Nevada law limits brothels but has never made them illegal. Storey County passed the first brothel licensing ordinance in the state in 1970. In 1971, the State of Nevada banned brothels in counties with a population of more than 200,000, later raising that figure to under 400,000. Brothels are not legal in Washoe, Douglas, Clark, Lincoln, Pershing, Eureka counties, or in Carson City. In 1978, the Nevada Supreme Court ruled the 1971 law implies brothels can be legal in counties under the population limit. Nevada has about to 30 brothels in 10 counties, three of which are in White Pine County, Nevada.
The City of Ely has ordinances that a brothel may not operate within 1000 feet of a school or church and must be surrounded by a high, solid fence. The owners and inmates are closely monitored by local law enforcement and health officers and they must adhere to strict rules and regulations in order to continue doing business. The women work three weeks then must take time off and leave the county during their time off. They must see a doctor on a frequent basis for testing of communicable diseases.