American Notes TEXAS

Enshrined on Broadway as The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas but known to customers from far beyond tiny La Grange as the Chicken Ranch, the most familiar bordello in the U.S. has been out of business since 1973. But now La Grange (pop. 3,768) is clucking over plans by Houston Contractor Todd Hoffman to erect a museum on the site and hold a "Chicken Fest," featuring big-name entertainers and a barbecue cookoff with a $40,000 first prize. Mayor Charlie Jungmichel has called Hoffman's proposal a "slap in the face to the people of our county. I think our morals are better than that."

Hoffman, who bought the ten-acre tract for $100,000, has divided 4.3 acres into 27 million minuscule lots, each a mere 1 sq. in., and is selling them (along with deeds suitable for framing, of course) for $8 apiece. He calls his opponents "hypocritical." Says the Chicken Ranch's new proprietor: "They could have dealt with the place when it was a whorehouse. Now I'm immoral for building a museum?"