ShawneeDispatch.com

Annie Chambers, Kansas City's legendary madam, had a lot to say when she visited Town Hall last week. And the ears of the assembled ladies and gentlemen of Shawnee Town were burning when it was over.

But it was all in fun, and no one was really scandalized for long. Actress Claudette Walker portrayed the notorious lady, who operated a fancy bawdy house at Third and Wyandotte from the 1872 until it was shut down in a citywide decency campaign in 1923. The July 8 program was the latest installment in Shawnee Town's monthly Speaker Series.

Walker portrayed Leanna Loveall Chambers Kearns as a charming raconteur - or is it raconteuse? - who recounted the story of her life with the assistance of a tableful of flamboyant hats and stoles that she shared with the audience of about 70 persons.

Speaking in character, Chambers recounted her early life in Lexington, Ky., her marriage and the birth and death of two children. She taught school in her early years, but was unable to find work after the death of her husband and drifted into a life in a "house of last resort."

Eventually, she operated a house north of the river for three years before opening her house in 1872 in the midst of Kansas City's red-light district near the old public square at Fourth and Main. The house was one of the most spectacular in the Midwest and was known from Chicago to Denver. Fine art graced its walls and the rooms were decorated with expensive furniture. Chambers looked after the women in her employ, seeing to their health and other needs, all in an effort to cater to a clientele of "the best gentlemen."

Kansas City reportedly had as many as 147 brothels, although virtually all of them, including Annie Chambers', were shuttered in a citywide decency campaign in the 1920s. Chambers fought the campaign in court but lost and eventually was ordered to close in 1923. She continued to operate the house as a boarding house.

As her health declined, she was befriended by the couple who operated the City Union Mission nearby. She deeded the house to the Mission with the proviso that she be allowed to remain there until her death, which came March 24, 1935, at the age of 91.

The house was demolished in the 1940s.