Around the turn of the nineteenth century when gold ran fast and heavy through the mountain community of Central City, Colorado, Pine Street was home to Central City's red light district. Madam Lou Bunch ran the most successful brothel in town, housing four ladies of the evening. Business must have been good, as it was reported that she weighed around 300 pounds.
In 1910, the U.S. Census recorded only two women residing with Lou who were listed officially as "housekeepers." When an epidemic swept through the area (possibly the Spanish Flu Epidemic of 1919), she and her sporting girls gave nursing care to sick and dying miners.
Lou died on 19 January 1935 and was buried at Denver's Fairmont Cemetery, sharing space with two of her fellow madams from Central City. After 75 years in an unmarked grave, Dean DiLullo, General Manager of Fortune Valley Casino arranged for the casino to donate the money for her headstone.money was raised to provide her headstone.
Each June, Central City celebrates her contributions with "Lou Bunch Days" ... a raucous and slightly bawdy festival replete with party goers dressed in period costumes along with bed races, parade and contests. The festivities close with the Madam's and Miner's Ball.
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