The Tetzlaff Building was purpose-built as a bordello on Saloon Row in the rough and tumble AZ Territory town of Williams in 1897. For those who preferred other diversions, the building also housed a pool hall and poker area, as well as an opium den.
A historical plaque on the front reads as follows:
"TETZLAFF BUILDING
This Victorian-Romanesque style building, designed as a saloon and bordello was built in 1897 by German tailor August Tetzlaff. Offering female company in eight cribs and an elegant parlor, it also boasted a two-story outhouse. Whiskey, pool tables and poker games provided entertainment on the ground floor, as did the Chinese restaurant and opium den located at the back of the building. This brick building stopped the devastating 1901 and 1903 fires that burned down all of "Saloon Row" to the east. It is now on the National Register of Historic Places."
The Tetzlaff Building is listed on the US National Register of Historic Places as part of the Downtown Williams AZ Historic District. The building is located at 137 Railroad Ave/Old US 66 in downtown Williams.
In 2014 when Blasterz visited the building was known as the Red Garter B&B Inn and Bakery. A mannequin dressed as a late-19th century "soiled dove" leaned out the 2nd story window, where the "cribs" were.
From the Red Garter website: (
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"The Red Garter Inn bed and breakfast proudly offers historic lodging in a beautifully restored 1897 saloon and bordello and includes a full, cooked to order breakfast in the morning. This two-story Victorian Romanesque brick building with twelve foot ceilings, skylights and antique furnishings captures the 1890's old western atmosphere without giving up the comfort and security expected by today's traveler. The steep “staircase to heaven” leads guests up to the parlor and cribs where the soiled doves once awaited their cowboy callers. P.S. The stories about Eve, the turn-of-the-century ghost that visits the rooms occasionally, are greatly exaggerated."
In 2016 the building was the story of a human-interest feature by Gerard Ramalho, part of his "Secrets of the Desert" series of reports from KSLV in Las Vegas NV.
From KSLV: (
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by Gerard Ramahlo
Monday, February 8th 2016
Williams, AZ (KSNV News3LV) — We are back on the road all this week in search of more Secrets of The Desert. This time, we headed south of Las Vegas to a pretty famous stretch of highway; Route 66.
Our first stop, Williams, Arizona, a town that is like taking a step back in time. Main Street in Williams is the most well-preserved stretch of Route 66 in the entire country. There is a lot of history in Williams, but as Gerard learned, there are also some secrets hidden there.
Travel about 216 miles toward Flagstaff and eventually you'll reach Williams. It was the last town to have its section of Route 66 bypassed in the mid-1980s. Interstate 40 was eventually built around it, marking the end of an era.
Today, old, dated gas pumps, diners, jukeboxes, and 50s era memorabilia can be seen on just about every corner. That's today. Long before that, it was a different kind of place.
"It was basically ranching and logging and a forestry town. A little bit later the railways came, and when the railroad came then the town flourished," said John Moore, Mayor of the City of Williams.
The highway was built in 1926 and Route 66 passed right through the town. One of the best-preserved buildings in the town is known as The Red Garter. Today it is a bed and breakfast, but in the past, it was a saloon, boarding house, a Chinese restaurant, and most notably, a brothel and bootlegging operation.
"This building was built when there were great hopes for a big silver mine that was between here and the Grand Canyon," said Owner, John Holst.
Holst owns the building today, but a former proprietor was a man by the name of Longino Mora. He ran the bootlegging operation downstairs while a madame ran the brothel upstairs. The ladies would reportedly hang outside of the upper windows, marketing their services. Today, they say the building is haunted by the ghost of one of those women.
"With the guys it's usually, boy I woke up in the middle of the night and there was this beautiful young gal floating around the room you know in a negligée," said Holst.
Across town is the Sultana Saloon. It is the oldest bar, with the oldest liquor license in the entire state of Arizona. There is an old theater where silent movies once played, and in the back of the hall, a basement that opened to a series of underground tunnels. The tunnels led to more brothels, speakeasies, and opium dens. Legend has it that the Sultana Saloon is also haunted. Through the years, many of the bar patrons reported seeing spirits walk through the saloon.
There's a lot to see in Williams. The stories of its rich history make up an important part of Americana. The town's residents are proud to share those stories and say their ultimate goal is to keep the town intact.
"And I think that's kind of important to Williams to keep things the way they are. I think that's very unique no other town in the United States has what we have," said Mayor Moore."