Honky Tonk Foodie
San Angelo has many interesting activities to occupy your time there. History and the present, as well as truth and rumors, are well intertwined in this town established in 1867. One locally famous example can be explored at Miss Hattie’s Bordello Museum, or with libations via Miss Hattie’s Restaurant and Cathouse Lounge, located at 18½ E. Concho Ave.
Supposedly opening in 1902 and closing *sometime later*, it is most likely no Miss Hattie really lived in and ran a business of ill repute in San Angelo. One piece of evidence is that no building existed at this specific address until 1910. When it finally was constructed by an E. A. Hatton, Hatton and his wife lived there together but later moved to Del Rio and divorced. They did not return to San Angelo. One thing is certain though: “We know for sure there was a brothel there in the 1930s,” said Suzanne Campbell at the West Texas Collection, as there are “a whole bunch of women listed with no occupation” in the city directory.
Photo: @astateofemily via Twenty20
When the current owner purchased the building, he was given a folder on the site’s history. Although there are no official records of a bordello, some names on arrest records over the years matched up with names of the building’s various occupants. One theory is Miss Hattie is actually Miss Honey, who is documented to have worked at another bordello in San Angelo, and resided at 110 W. Concho Ave before her death in 1953.
Regardless of what is lost to history, this museum is a unique way to view the past of this Texas town. Its use of period artifacts makes for a fun and tantalizing thing to do when strolling the formerly wild streets of San Angelo. Check with the site to ensure tours are not sold out, then come up and stay awhile!
