BunnyRanch goes back to the future with new Comstock-era decor

A major facelift is turning the Moonlight BunnyRanch from 1960 Squaw Valley to 1880 Virginia City.

Part of the building used to be part of the housing units for Olympians in the 1960 Squaw Valley Winter Games, but owner Dennis Hof decided a Victorian look was best.

"This is the final stop, to have that 1880s look," he said.

Hof, who has owned the ranch since 1992, said about $500,000 went into the new look, which included a new facade, foyer, parlor and a bathroom that complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

He will show off his new look to the public at a ribbon-cutting ceremony 5:30-7:30 p.m. Wednesday. Food and drink will be provided by Dick's Roadhouse, which Hof also owns.

He said the brothel, which began in 1955 as a two-bedroom, one-bath operation, now has 35 rooms employing about 500 prostitutes as independent contractors and 40 hourly employees.

Two crystal chandeliers hang in the foyer, where the women will line up for customers, with the lit-up ranch logo on the floor, near a 6-foot-high humidor.

The parlor, done in red with leopard-print rug and fireplaces, is a place prostitutes can talk to their clients.

The renovation began about six months ago, Hof said, and would be ready by the ribbon-cutting. He said there was still some painting to be done.

Hof is not limiting his business interests to the ranch, though. He has purchased part of the industrial area around him and plans to develop a BunnyRanch industrial park.

He said he hasn't decided whether to sell lots or develop properties himself, but he expects to have plumbing supply companies and auto body shops all around him.

"We've bought property all around the area, residential and industrial, to control it," he said.

He said he wants to avoid the situation of having new residents complain about his brothel, though, he added, that hasn't happened yet.

"It's like having an airport. People come in and then they complain about the noise," he said. "We want to control who our neighbors are."

Hof said the development was a way of giving back to Mound House. "The BunnyRanch has always been beautiful inside, with the most beautiful ladies in America," Hof said. "Now it's beautiful on the outside."

If you go

WHAT: Moonlite BunnyRanch redesign ribbon-cutting

WHEN: 5:30 p.m. Wednesday

WHERE: 69 Moonlite Road, Mound House

CALL: (775) 246-9901

• Contact Karen Woodmansee at kwoodmansee@nevadaappeal.com or 882-2111 ext. 351.