Guy Town by Gaslight: A History of Vice in Austin's First Ward

Crime and vice plagued Austin after the Civil War, and Guy Town was a red-light hub with a most curious legacy. Today's pleasure-seeking visitors to the Warehouse District walk on top of Guy Town—the chic neighborhood of today is built on the most decadent and deadly area of the city's past. With the old county courthouse at its core, the district rose from the Colorado River up to Fifth Street and spanned from Congress Avenue to Shoal Creek, infesting Austin's eclectic First Ward neighborh...