Though not uncommon to late nineteenth-and early twentieth-century cities, red-light districts were regarded as areas of ill repute where madams and prostitutes worked outside the law.
Yet in , Wacoβa city lauded for its multitude of educational institutions and churchesβbecame only the second city in the United States to legalize such an area.
This district, known as the Reservation, or sometimes as Two-Street, brought in thousands of dollars of revenue to the city while serving as a source of controversy for many years. Rather than completely outlawing prostitution, the Waco charter included a provision for the city government to suppress or regulate bordellos.
For many years, government officials attempted to control prostitution and, in , implemented laws to completely suppress it. However, these actions proved in vain, and after just five years of attempting to eliminate prostitution, the city of Waco did a complete about-face on its strategy. The new policy legalized prostitution in a small area just off of downtown between Washington Avenue, North Third Street, Jefferson Avenue, and the Brazos River, providing the city with more control over where and when such actions could take place.
The policy also segregated the area by race, and prohibited drinking within its limits. Each woman also had to pay to be examined by a city doctor twice a month.
