Joe Danna’s “infamous” Lighthouse Supperclub enticed hundreds of nightly visitors up Purgatory Springs Mesa. The speakeasy was situated next to the “Hilltop” Tubercular Sanatorium, which created an odd mixture of passengers riding the funicular railroad. Nurses, doctors, and the families of the consumptives mingled with showgirls, high society couples, and working-class “roughs.”
Business boomed until the self-proclaimed “good citizens” of the Fountain of Power Church and the KKK decided the Lighthouse and the “degenerate” sanatorium was an affront to common decency. Town chaos ensued.
![Woman in Sailor Suit Peering out of Porthole](https://www.purgatorysprings.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/ahoy-boys.jpg)
![Woman in Sailor Suit Peering out of Porthole](https://www.purgatorysprings.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/ahoy-boys.jpg)
Ahoy Boys! Eye-catching advertising featuring “professional” photography…
and less sophisticated messaging
![Worker posing next to chalk drawn words: Speakeasy](https://www.purgatorysprings.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/tumblr_31dad1e3284c6da035f32f0c6ec7a9a5_16604ee0_1280.jpg)
![Worker posing next to chalk drawn words: Speakeasy](https://www.purgatorysprings.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/tumblr_31dad1e3284c6da035f32f0c6ec7a9a5_16604ee0_1280.jpg)
![Men wait for train](https://www.purgatorysprings.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/ML144.jpg)
![Men wait for train](https://www.purgatorysprings.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/ML144.jpg)
… brought crowds to the Purgatory Springs Depot.
Up the steep face of Purgatory Mesa to the Lighthouse Supper Club (or–for the less festive, up to the next-door TB Sanatorium)
![Funicular Car Heading up to the Lighthouse Club](https://www.purgatorysprings.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Train-Up.jpg)
![Funicular Car Heading up to the Lighthouse Club](https://www.purgatorysprings.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Train-Up.jpg)
![Bartender serving crowd](https://www.purgatorysprings.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/tumblr_ohq4a7eY5c1s7e5k5o1_1280.jpg)
![Bartender serving crowd](https://www.purgatorysprings.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/tumblr_ohq4a7eY5c1s7e5k5o1_1280.jpg)
Technically, it’s not illegal to consume booze, just to sell it, so no worries with Joe Danna’s “special agreement” with the local authorities.
Backstage the chorus girls get ready. Showtime ladies!
![Man dressing showgirls backstage](https://www.purgatorysprings.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/photographs-by-stanley-kubrick-look-magazine-life-in-new-york-40s-11.jpg)
![Man dressing showgirls backstage](https://www.purgatorysprings.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/photographs-by-stanley-kubrick-look-magazine-life-in-new-york-40s-11.jpg)
![1920s Drinkers celebrating](https://www.purgatorysprings.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/speakeasy-large.jpg)
![1920s Drinkers celebrating](https://www.purgatorysprings.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/speakeasy-large.jpg)
The nightly celebration begins.
Swell entertainment for all! And if you don’t like it? Talk to Joe Danna.
![Show Girls Posing on Stage](https://www.purgatorysprings.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/EntertainmentGirls.jpg)
![Show Girls Posing on Stage](https://www.purgatorysprings.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/EntertainmentGirls.jpg)