Phoebe Doty was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 madam

Madam

Madam, or madame, is a polite title used for women which, in English, is the equivalent of Mrs. or Ms., and is often found abbreviated as "ma'am", and less frequently as "ma'm". It is derived from the French madame, which means "my lady", the feminine form of lord; the plural of ma dame in this...

 and prostitute

Prostitution

Prostitution is the act or practice of providing sexual services to another person in return for payment. The person who receives payment for sexual services is called a prostitute and the person who receives such services is known by a multitude of terms, including a "john". Prostitution is one of...

. In 1821, she entered a bordello in the Five Points

Five Points, Manhattan

Five Points was a neighborhood in central lower Manhattan in New York City. The neighborhood was generally defined as being bound by Centre Street in the west, The Bowery in the east, Canal Street in the north and Park Row in the south...

 neighborhood of New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

. Over the next three years, she accrued $600 in personal belongings. For the next decade or so, Doty moved from house to house, eventually settling in a brothel on Church Street

Church Street

-Streets:* Church Street, Liverpool, England, United Kingdom* Church Street , New York City, New York, United States* Church Street, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia* Church Street , England, United Kingdom...

. There she was valued at $800.

By 1839, Doty had opened her own brothel on Leonard Street. At decade's end, she was valued at $2000. During the 1840s, Doty was a prominent prostitute and madam. She held lavish balls

Ball (dance)

A ball is a formal dance. The word 'ball' is derived from the Latin word "ballare", meaning 'to dance'; the term also derived into "bailar", which is the Spanish and Portuguese word for dance . In Catalan it is the same word, 'ball', for the dance event.Attendees wear evening attire, which is...

 at her brothel to attract new customers and to mingle with the upper classes. Her high profile earned her notoriety in the penny press

Penny press

Penny press newspapers were cheap, tabloid-style papers produced in the middle of the 19th century.- History :As the East Coast's middle and working classes grew, so did the new public’s desire for news. Penny papers emerged as a cheap source with coverage of crime, tragedy, adventure, and gossip...

. The Libertine

Libertine

A libertine is one devoid of most moral restraints, which are seen as unnecessary or undesirable, especially one who ignores or even spurns accepted morals and forms of behavior sanctified by the larger society. Libertines, also known as rakes, placed value on physical pleasures, meaning those...

suggested that Doty and another madam, Adeline Miller

Adeline Miller

Adeline Miller, alias Adeline Furman, was an American madam and prostitute. According to her contemporary George Templeton Strong, Miller had been active in New York City prostitution since the late 1810s. By 1821, she was running a bordello on Church Street, where she had accumulated personal...

, should rent the Park Theatre

Park Theatre (Manhattan)

The Park Theatre, originally known as the New Theatre, was a playhouse in New York City, located at 21, 23, and 25 Park Row, about east of Ann Street and backing Theatre Alley. The location, at the north end of the city, overlooked the park that would soon house City Hall...

and talk about their lives. It predicted that "the house would be crammed if the entrance was five dollars a head. The bigger the harlot now-a-days the more money is made."