The Ghost in Morgan's Alley

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Lewiston, Idaho, once an important port for miners traveling in search of gold, is now a town of about 30,000 people. Few of the people who live in the Lewis-Clark Valley speak of its over one hundred year history. However, there are still parts of the community where one can explore and see the age of the town. Downtown Lewiston is one of a few areas where people can go exploring. They wander the streets, admiring the buildings that stand proudly above them. One building in particular ties a unique history into the downtown area. Morgan’s Alley stands at the corner of Main Street and D Street, overlooking the cars and people passing by. On the outside, it looks like an ordinary, older building. On the inside, it holds secrets of the past and possibly a ghost.

Lewiston’s downtown buildings were created in direct reaction to two things; in 1899 the Snake River Bridge was built and Lewiston became a port. The city of Lewiston was an important port for miners who were traveling to find work. Where there is gold mining, there are men, and where there are men there are women. At the turn of the century, prostitution was not uncommon nor was it illegal. Many of the buildings in downtown Lewiston were bordellos for men to ‘unwind’. Some of the buildings that make up Morgan’s Alley were those bordellos. A teller’s box still sits at one of the entrances to the building. It is from the 1900s and if men wanted to go and see the ‘upstairs girls’ they would have to pay there. There was always a guard on duty so there would be no customers that got sex for free. After paying, they would travel up the grand staircase, that is still there today, and go have sex (Bush). Prostitution stayed legal in Lewiston until the 1940s. Not...

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...buildings they make. Those walls hold stories that are unique and they cannot be repeated. Taking care of those buildings helps humans to preserve the lives and stories of the people who lived in them earlier.

Works Cited

Branting, Steven. Historic Firsts of Lewiston Idaho: Unintended Greatness. San Francisco: The

History Press, 2013.

Bush, Garry. Email Interview. 25 March 2014.

“Historic Downtown Lewiston Walking Tour.” 6 October 2009. 15 May 2014

.

Powell, Mike. “A Spooky Tour of Old Lewiston.” 3 October 2012

.

Ross, Vikky. Email Interview. 27 March 2014.

“Staircase.” Lewiston. Personal Photograph by Author. 3 March 2014.

“Third Floor.” Lewiston. Personal Photograph by Author. 3 March 2014.

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