Historical St. Louis Madame and Brothel Owner Babe Connors (1856-1918 )

Chestnut Street Circa 1900

Babe (1856-1918) was a plump, bronze-skinned lady of mixed blood who stood 5 ft. 7 in. tall and usually weighed in at around 165 lb. By the time she had opened her first famous parlor house at 210 South Street in St. Louis,Missouri (about 1890), she was in her mid-30s--an outgoing, fun-loving businesswoman who liked to dress elegantly (complete with feather boa and parasol) while taking drives in her open carriage through fashionable Forest Park, where her diamonds outshone the sun. Her Houses: 


"The Castle" on Sixth Street was a three-story structure of white-painted bricks. It was abandoned in 1898 for a "double house" in the new red-light district on Chestnut Street. Called "The Palace," this building featured the finest of rugs, tapestries, and objects d'art. Inside were a number of $250 crystal chandeliers and at least a dozen fair-skinned octoroons, who sometimes danced in nothing but their stockings. 


Although the decor and the ladies were elegant, Missouri segregationist attitudes kept the prices low in a "mixed house," and a quick sprint upstairs could be obtained for as little as $5. Longer, more elaborate sessions were four to five times that. Babe Connors was also famous for shows in which the most beautiful of her girls--attired in evening gowns but wearing nothing in the way of underclothes--would dance on a huge mirror. 


Before her death, Babe was converted to Catholicism by Harry Bridgewater, a St. Louis saloonkeeper. She was buried in St. Theresa's Cemetery.