In the Confederate capital of Richmond, the center of social life was concentrated in the four blocks southwest of Capitol Square, where two rival hotels served as the city’s primary gathering spots. The Ballard stood at 1400 and 1406 East Franklin, while the Exchange operated directly across the street at 1403 Franklin, with a pedestrian bridge linking the two establishments. The same area was also home to roughly 40 major gambling houses, many with high-class prostitutes living above them and along the surrounding alleys. One of the most notorious strips was Locust Alley, which ran from Main to Franklin within the block bounded by 14th and 15th streets.
A mile east of downtown, another district along Main and Cary streets flowed with liquor and drew alcoholics, prostitutes, and pickpockets. Patrons frequented the area’s saloons, hotels, and restaurants, and strolled along the city’s most popular promenades late in the day. Attempts to counter the vice met with open defiance.
The YMCA tried to establish a moral stronghold on South 10th Street, but the forces of immorality answered by having a madam open her own house directly across the street from the YMCA, naming her establishment Duval’s Drug Store.