Baker was the last in a long line of Helena madams.
While Helena had a thriving red light district in the late 1800s, most brothels in Helena's red light district were shut down following World War I.  The prostitution business then moved downtown, with a madam named Pearl Maxwell opening a brothel in that area by 1918.
 The building that came to house Dorothy's, called the St. Louis Block, was built in 1882.
 It originally was a dry goods store, and over the years had business tenants that included bars, a Vaudeville theater, bowling alley, bootery, and bank.
 The location also was briefly a furniture store.
The upstairs was first opened as a bordello by Ida Levy in 1927 during Prohibition, naming it "Ida's Rooms," using a common euphemism to mask the true nature of the business.
 Levy also owned the Silver Dollar Bar downstairs, and told her extended family in New York state that she was merely a bar owner.
Baker took over the brothel business about 1955 from Levy, for whom Dorothy apparently had worked.
 Like Levy, she kept her business discreet, listing it in the phone book as "Dorothy's Rooms," though anyone inquiring about renting living space there was graciously turned away.
 Next door to Dorothy's was the Yat Son Chinese restaurant, where Baker often stopped for coffee and commiserated with the owner about how hard it was to find good "help."
She did not drive and always took taxis, often tipping children generously for flagging down a cab.

According to historian Ellen Baumler, Dorothy's brothel was probably the most famous in the state of Montana.
 The upstairs, accessible via a narrow stairway from Last Chance Gulch, or via a ground floor door in the back of the building (which was built into a hillside), had five sitting rooms and seven bedrooms, and the south end of the second story also served as Baker's personal private residence.
 The facility hosted a Wurlitzer jukebox, and was noted for one room with a large, elaborate round bed, with the establishment generally having a flamboyant but tacky decor.
  Baker did not have a liquor license, though at the time of the 1973 raid, one allegation made was that an undercover officer had been sold alcohol in addition to the services of a prostitute.

Today, the main floor is occupied by two businesses, a bar and restaurant known as the "Windbag Saloon and Grill", and the adjacent "Ghost Art Gallery", which has its framing shop on the second floor, in the area that once included the main entrance, a large sitting room, and Dorothy's personal residence.
Most of the remaining upstairs  rooms have been converted to office space, but one room has been kept precisely as it was at the time of the police raid in 1973; her bathroom—which has an unusual black-and turquoise green decor, cutout starbursts in the dropped ceiling, and an oversized bathtub.
There are numerous reports that the building is haunted.
Baker was the last in a long line of Helena madams. While Helena had a thriving red light district in the late 1800s, most brothels in Helena's red light district were shut down following World War I.  The prostitution business then moved downtown, with a madam named Pearl Maxwell opening a brothel in that area by 1918.  The building that came to house Dorothy's, called the St. Louis Block, was built in 1882.  It originally was a dry goods store, and over the years had business tenants that included bars, a Vaudeville theater, bowling alley, bootery, and bank.  The location also was briefly a furniture store. The upstairs was first opened as a bordello by Ida Levy in 1927 during Prohibition, naming it "Ida's Rooms," using a common euphemism to mask the true nature of the business.  Levy also owned the Silver Dollar Bar downstairs, and told her extended family in New York state that she was merely a bar owner. Baker took over the brothel business about 1955 from Levy, for whom Dorothy apparently had worked.  Like Levy, she kept her business discreet, listing it in the phone book as "Dorothy's Rooms," though anyone inquiring about renting living space there was graciously turned away.  Next door to Dorothy's was the Yat Son Chinese restaurant, where Baker often stopped for coffee and commiserated with the owner about how hard it was to find good "help." She did not drive and always took taxis, often tipping children generously for flagging down a cab.
According to historian Ellen Baumler, Dorothy's brothel was probably the most famous in the state of Montana.  The upstairs, accessible via a narrow stairway from Last Chance Gulch, or via a ground floor door in the back of the building (which was built into a hillside), had five sitting rooms and seven bedrooms, and the south end of the second story also served as Baker's personal private residence.  The facility hosted a Wurlitzer jukebox, and was noted for one room with a large, elaborate round bed, with the establishment generally having a flamboyant but tacky decor.   Baker did not have a liquor license, though at the time of the 1973 raid, one allegation made was that an undercover officer had been sold alcohol in addition to the services of a prostitute.
Today, the main floor is occupied by two businesses, a bar and restaurant known as the "Windbag Saloon and Grill", and the adjacent "Ghost Art Gallery", which has its framing shop on the second floor, in the area that once included the main entrance, a large sitting room, and Dorothy's personal residence. Most of the remaining upstairs  rooms have been converted to office space, but one room has been kept precisely as it was at the time of the police raid in 1973; her bathroom—which has an unusual black-and turquoise green decor, cutout starbursts in the dropped ceiling, and an oversized bathtub. There are numerous reports that the building is haunted.
Dorothy Baker (madam)