WORDS + IMAGES
Miss Kitty's
The Oleander Hotel
A fictional tale shot in the real Oleander, although at one time the real Oleander sat dead smack in the middle of Galveston’s red-light district that time was long after the time of this tale.
Galveston, Texas 1920
As “The Reverend” walked the few chilly, damp blocks between Galveston’s Union Station and the Oleander Hotel, all he could think about was the warmth provided by a roaring fire, a good dram and comfortable bed—and one of Miss Kitty’s ladies.
Stepping into the Oleander, “The Rev” as he was at Miss Kitty’s, sighed a long sigh of relief and started up the stairs. Maybe later he thought, he’d come down the back way and visit the speakeasy in the cellar. Thankful that the authorities continued to turn a blind eye to Miss Kitty’s, The Rev reached the top of the stairs and went in search of Madam Kitty.
Walking down the hall (a square arrangement with rooms on both sides, with windows to an open shaft), The Rev, as always, admired the Madam’s fine taste in decorating.
As he turned the corner, he was greeted by Miss Kitty. Ah, The Rev, welcome back. But I am sorry my friend, my ladies are all busy. Why don’t you wait in Room 16. When someone is free. I’ll send the maid to fetch you. Meanwhile, take a nap if you’d like.
“Before you rest, please wash up. My ladies like their men to be clean. I’ll send the maid up with a towel and some soap. A shaving kit is already there, I believe.”
Roused from a deep sleep by the maid, The Rev found Miss Kitty waiting for him. “Take him to Room 18. I believe that is his favorite room. I send Lady Jane over in a bit, as soon as she cleans up.
As Miss Kitty turned to go, she saw The Rev looking longingly into Room 6. “You know, Rev, Room 6 is my private room. No one is ever to come in here, but me and a special friend.
At this point, for the sake of decorum, our story ends, although we can be assured that Rev left happy, planning to return to the Oleander Hotel and one of Miss Kitty’s ladies.
As I said, a fictional story. Yet … Miss Kitty did exist and her “License for Prostitution” does hang in the hotel. Was it a brothel at the dawn of Prohibition? We can only speculate. We might also add that local lore claims that there “just might have been” a speakeasy in the cellar during prohibition. The dating of our fictional story was set to give Miss Kitty time to build up a brothel trade where she could be the Madam. In spite of the Mann Act of 1910, and Texas subsequently making prostitution illegal, both it and gambling continued in Galveston, almost unabated well into the 50s. Prohibition was never really enforced in Galveston either.
One thing we can be sure of, following the end of the Great Depression, the Oleander sat in heart of Galveston’s red-light district. Yet, the hotel has a noble history when it came to serving Black Americans.
In the Green Books of the 1930s, the Oleander Hotel was listed as offering rooms to Blacks traveling through Galveston. We can assume that this was true from the beginning. It was near Galveston’s Union Station proving a nearby respite for the black traveler during the Jim Crow Era. The second story was the hotel, and on the ground-floor could be found several thriving Black Owned businesses. A Dr. Mosley, a well-respected Black doctor had his office on the hotel’s first floor. Also listed in the Green Book was the Lincoln Theater, Imperial Barbershop, Mitchell’s Restaurant and the Post Office, all within a block or so of the Oleander.
The hotel consisted of twenty-eight 10 x 10 rooms with a communal bathroom and kitchen. The hotel also offered a restaurant on the ground floor.
In our scenes, the furnishing are antiques arranged by the antique company that owns the building to reflect the Oleander in her Green Book Days.