By the 1880s, families began moving out of Aliso Street near Chinatown to more upscale neighborhoods which transformed residences into boarding houses or parlor houses otherwise known as brothels occupied by prostitutes. A 1996 archaeological excavation at Union Station in Downtown Los Angeles uncovered a red light district that closed down in 1909 as well as a residential neighborhood and commercial area. Disease was very present in parlor houses at this time. The most commonly found artifacts at the brothel were foodways like fancy cups and dishes as well as beaded lampshades and globe lamps. These could have been staged to create ambiance. Archaeologists have a hard time distinguishing if items such as liquor bottles, stemmed glasses, tumblers, cosmetics, drugs and medication were personal or work related. Most likely artifacts that were liquor related were most likely used for work since it constituted for 66% of artifacts at the brothel while at residences, bottles and glassware was at just 30%. Pharmaceutical and medical items were more often used in the brothels than in saloons, part of the artifacts analyzed by Catherine Holder Spude shows common medical remedies used in brothels for pain relief, like Lydia  Pinkham’s vegetable compound, with a 20.6% of alcohol, or Mrs. Winslow’s soothing syrup, containing morphia. Catherine Holder Spude’s archeological data collection explains the archeological typology of the often segregation of gender tasks in saloons and brothels. Based on artifacts and tools often used for the labor field inside the business, female attire, hairpins, jewelry,  cosmetic containers, and others, were often found in the rooms that were leased for the use of brothels. There were also tools found in the saloons including pocketknives, collar stays, razors, suspender buckles, and buttons, emphasizing the role of males inside the saloons. Similarly, historical records and other kinds of written evidence show the transition and elimination of independent madam brothels for the expansion of men owning and operating in the local red-light district, an example, is the case of Tom Savage, son of Irish immigrants, who moved from San Francisco to Los Angeles in 1887 and worked his way up in the red-light district industry. Tom Savage's business strategies show the integration of saloon and brothel businesses by implementing leasing houses near the bar, stating a clear and direct relation between prostitution and alcohol consumption.
