Last Building At Infamous Mustang Ranch Brother Goes Up In Flames

RENO, Nev. (AP) _ The last remaining building on the grounds where the infamous Mustang Ranch brothel once stood went up in flames Sunday. <br/><br/>The 48-room, 20,000-square-foot structure known as the

Sunday, March 25th 2007, 7:35 pm

By: News On 6

RENO, Nev. (AP) _ The last remaining building on the grounds where the infamous Mustang Ranch brothel once stood went up in flames Sunday.

The 48-room, 20,000-square-foot structure known as the Mustang Ranch II annex was destroyed as part of a firefighting training exercise.

``It's out with the old and in with the new,'' said a woman who goes by Air Force Amy, who once worked there. ``The day of the $20 roll in the hay in a trailer is gone.''

The building was the last at the former site of the Mustang Ranch, located just east of Reno. The government padlocked the ranch in 1999 after years of tax problems.

In 2003, the government auctioned off the annex for $8,600 to Dennis Hof, a brothel owner who planned to use it as a museum. Moving it was too expensive, so he donated it to fire crews.

Amy, now employed by Hof, said the annex was built in 1983 for male prostitutes but the plans didn't fly. It later housed about 20 women compared with 50 women at the busier main building.

The government sold the gaudy pink stucco buildings that formed the heart of the state's first legal brothel for $145,000 to another brothel owner, who moved them to another site and continues to operate them under the famous name.

The BLM plans to return the Mustang Ranch land to a natural state and use it for public access to the Truckee River.