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109. The Brothels of Pensacola (Part V)

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Updated: Apr 1, 2022


Several of the more distinguished Pensacola brothels belonged to such famous proprietors as Percy Nelson, Violet Arnold, and Miss Hazel, but the most renown was located at 15 W. Zaragoza and belonged to Mollie McCoy. In all, she occupied three different buildings along East Zaragoza Street with her last becoming the most famous. When the building was finally torn down, some of the material was used to build the Waterfront Rescue Mission that was erected on the same spot. Born in 1843 in South Carolina, Miss Mollie was an impressively stout woman who saw herself as providing a special house of sexual refinement. Her bordello is reputed to have rivaled any of prestigious houses of New Orleans of their day. Mollie’s name was written on her front door in large gilt letters to demonstrate her pride in her establishment.


A maid always opened the front door in a manner of gracious hospitality. The front parlor of the twenty-room, two story brick house was set among magnolia and oak trees and reflected the garish style of the time. The ceiling was high and the windows were floor length, masked by curtains of cherry colored satin. The walls were papered in gold and a fireplace under a white marble mantel. The other rooms were equally decorated with elegant carpets, numerous gilt-edged mirrors, and paintings hung on the walls. Mollie expected her guests to spend large amounts of money on drinks, but was more than willing to handle any rowdies with aplomb and authority. One night an intoxicated customer pulled a gun and threatened to begin shooting at which time Mollie calmly walked up and ordered him to put the gun away. Mollie’s girls were very ladylike, attractive, and had handsome full figures typical for the time period.


During the peak of her career Mollie employed as many as fifteen girls, most of them brought in from New Orleans, Louisville, and several other large southern cities. [1] Mollie dressed her girls in a grand, but showy manner for all to see. But she forbade them to drink, smoke, or act indecently in the public rooms. During their off duty hours the girls would go to the movies at the Isis Theater (Northwest corner of Palafox and Garden Streets. But at night they remained strictly cloistered, an unwritten rule (from the police) for the district’s code of operation. Many of the women behaved in such a ladylike manner that they refused to disrobe in a lighted room.


A number of “elite prostitutes” won the steady attention of some of the local men for years, and some notable ones like “French Louise,” eventually married respectable citizens. Mollie would pass away in 1920 and was buried in the St. Johns Cemetery. Most of her elegant furniture were sold to pay off her debts.


Madame Mollie's Elegant Ladies


Mollie McCoy's Bordello

15 West Zarragossa Street


Mary C. "Mollie" McCoy's grave St. Johns Cemetery

[1 ] Ibid, page 75, 77


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