Brothels of Nevada: Candid Views of America's Legal Sex Industry

The state of Nevada is known as a place for quick money, 24-hour marriages, and easy divorces. But it's also the only place in the United States with a legal sex industry. About 300 women today work in Nevada brothels, all regulated by the state government. Often shunned from serious condsideration, little is known about the prostitutes or the environments in which they work. In Brothels of Nevada, photographer Timothy Hursley offers a view of this unknown side of America. He exposes the sites in all their variety and complexity, from neon signs on double-wide trailers, to red-toned bars where workers and customers meet, to bedrooms lined with velvet and lace. Far from risque, the images are poignant reminders of how little brothels differ from many American settings. Hursley photographs twenty-five houses, roughly the entire sex industry, in views from the mid-1980s to today. Brothels of Nevada includes large well-known places like the Chicken Ranch and Mustang Ranch as well as tiny houses off the beaten track, like Angel's Ladies and Bobbie's Buckeye Bar. Alexa Albert addresses how the design of the brothels affects the work they house.