Commodore Peg-Leg and His Floating Brothel

Commodore Peg-Leg and His Floating Brothel – The Story of the Art Palace

One of the most bizarre and colorful maritime stories in Great Lakes history revolves around a floating brothel known as the Art Palace, operated by a mysterious figure known as “Commodore Peg-Leg.”

This vessel, described as a floating “bagnio” (brothel), was an active part of the underworld culture of the 19th-century Great Lakes shipping industry, where thousands of sailors, lumbermen, and dockworkers spent weeks or months at sea before returning to shore looking for entertainment.

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Who Was “Commodore Peg-Leg”?

While little is documented about Commodore Peg-Leg, the nickname suggests he was a sailor or ship captain with a wooden leg, a fairly common injury among seafarers of the time.

His true identity remains a mystery, but he was clearly a businessman—of a questionable kind—who saw an opportunity to run an illicit entertainment operation aboard a ship.

It was not uncommon for brothels, gambling houses, and saloons to operate on boats, especially in places where laws were stricter on land than on water. Riverboats, barges, and even schooners were sometimes used for illegal or shady business operations.

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The Art Palace – A Floating Den of Vice

The Art Palace was a small wooden schooner, only 51 feet long, built in 1867 by G. Gunderson in Fort Howard, Wisconsin (now Green Bay).

Key Facts About the Ship:

• Built: 1867, Fort Howard, Wisconsin
• Type: Small two-masted schooner
• Length: 51 ft (15.5 m)
• Beam: 16 ft (4.9 m)
• Depth: 4 ft (1.2 m)
• Tonnage: 33 tons
• Original Purpose: Cargo or fishing vessel
• Later Use: Floating brothel and entertainment ship

At some point after being launched, the vessel was converted into a “pleasure boat”, offering gambling, alcohol, and the company of “model artistes” (a common euphemism for sex workers at the time).

It is unclear how long the Art Palace operated, but it must have been profitable enough to stay afloat for at least two years before meeting its fate in 1869.

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The Shipwreck of the Art Palace

The Art Palace met its end on August 14, 1869, when it was anchored off Cedar River in Green Bay, Michigan, and a sudden gale drove it ashore.

Key Details of the Wreck:

• The ship was not carrying cargo or passengers, aside from its “crew” and workers.
• A storm blew in, driving the vessel onto shore.
• The ship was reported as a total loss, leaving “Commodore Peg-Leg” and his “model artistes” stranded.
• The crew and workers made it to shore and lived in the woods nearby for some time before disappearing from history.

Surprisingly, the ship was later recovered, and it remained registered in Manitowoc until 1877, suggesting it was raised and put back into service—though likely no longer as a floating brothel.

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Floating Brothels and Vice on the Great Lakes

The Art Palace was not the only vessel of its kind—floating gambling houses and brothels were known to operate on both the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River system.

Why Floating Brothels Existed:

• Evasion of the Law: Local authorities had no jurisdiction once a vessel was offshore. Many vice operators used boats to get around strict laws on land.
• A Captive Audience: Great Lakes ports were filled with sailors, dockworkers, and lumbermen who had money to spend and limited legal entertainment options.
• Remote Locations: Many small lumber and mining towns along the lakes lacked traditional entertainment establishments, so brothels, saloons, and gambling houses were brought to them by boat.

While Chicago and Detroit were known for their “red-light districts,” many isolated areas around the lakes depended on ships like the Art Palace for “entertainment”.

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The Legacy of “Commodore Peg-Leg”

Unlike more famous Great Lakes captains, “Commodore Peg-Leg” never became a household name—his true identity remains unknown.

But his floating brothel lives on in Great Lakes legend, standing as a testament to the wild, lawless frontier of the 19th-century maritime industry.

If you’d like to learn more about floating vice ships, other shipwrecks with unique stories, or early maritime crime on the Great Lakes, let me know!