Storyville
Encyclopedia
- This article is about the New Orleans district. For other things named "Storyville" see Storyville (disambiguation)Storyville (disambiguation)Storyville may refer to:* Storyville, a historic red light district of New Orleans, Louisiana* Storyville Records, a Danish record label* Storyville Coffee Company, a coffee roaster in Seattle, Washington* Storyville , an American blues-rock band...
.
Red-light district
A red-light district is a part of an urban area where there is a concentration of prostitution and sex-oriented businesses, such as sex shops, strip clubs, adult theaters, etc...
of New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
, from 1897 through 1917. Locals usually simply referred to the area as The District.
History
The nickname Storyville was in reference to city alderman Sidney Story, who wrote the legislation setting up the district. It was bounded by Iberville, BasinBasin Street
Basin Street or Rue Basin in French, is a street in New Orleans, Louisiana. It parallels Rampart Street one block lakeside, or inland, from the boundary of the French Quarter, running from Canal Street down 5 blocks past Saint Louis Cemetery...
, St. Louis, and N. Robertson streets. Most of this former district is now occupied by the Iberville Housing Projects
Iberville Projects
Iberville Projects is a neighborhood of the city of New Orleans and one of the Housing Projects of New Orleans. A subdistrict of the Mid-City District Area, its boundaries as defined by the City Planning Commission are: St. Louis Street to the north, Basin Street to the east, Iberville Street to...
, two blocks inland from the French Quarter
French Quarter
The French Quarter, also known as Vieux Carré, is the oldest neighborhood in the city of New Orleans. When New Orleans was founded in 1718 by Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, the city was originally centered on the French Quarter, or the Vieux Carré as it was known then...
.
The District was set up to limit prostitution
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...
to one area of town where authorities could monitor and regulate the practice. In the late 1890s, the New Orleans city government studied the legalized red light districts
Red-light district
A red-light district is a part of an urban area where there is a concentration of prostitution and sex-oriented businesses, such as sex shops, strip clubs, adult theaters, etc...
of northern German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
ports and set up Storyville based on such models. Between 1895 and 1915, "blue books" were published in Storyville. These books were guides to prostitution for visitors to the district's services including house descriptions, prices, particular services and the "stock" each house had to offer. The Storyville blue-books were inscribed with the motto: "Order of the Garter: Honi Soit Qui Mal Y Pense (Shame to Him Who Evil Thinks)."
Establishments in Storyville ranged from cheap "cribs" to more expensive houses up to a row of elegant mansions along Basin Street
Basin Street
Basin Street or Rue Basin in French, is a street in New Orleans, Louisiana. It parallels Rampart Street one block lakeside, or inland, from the boundary of the French Quarter, running from Canal Street down 5 blocks past Saint Louis Cemetery...
for well-heeled customers. New Orleans' cribs were 50-cent joints, whereas the more expensive establishments could cost up to $10. Black and white brothels coexisted in Storyville; however, black men were barred from legally purchasing services rendered in either black or white brothels. Nonetheless, brothels with black prostitutes serving blacks openly flourished with the full knowledge of the police and other local authorities a short distance uptown from Storyville proper.
The District was adjacent to one of the main railway stations where travelers arrived in the city and became a noted attraction.
Jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
did not originate in Storyville (it started off as a New Orleans style of music played all over town), but it flourished there as in the rest of the city. Many out-of-town visitors first heard this style of music there before the music spread north. Some people from elsewhere continue to associate Storyville with the origins of jazz. It was tradition in the better Storyville establishments to hire a piano player and sometimes small bands.
Closure
The US Army, driven by a reformist attitude at home, had an intolerance for prostitution on the basis of public health. In October 1917, shortly after the United States entered World War IWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, Secretary of War Newton D. Baker
Newton D. Baker
Newton Diehl Baker, Jr. was an American politician who belonged to the Democratic Party. He served as the 37th mayor of Cleveland, Ohio from 1912 to 1915 and as U.S. Secretary of War from 1916 to 1921.-Early years:...
said:
Aided by the campaigns of the American Social Hygiene Organization, and with army regulations that placed such institutes off limits, he implemented a national programme to close so called segregated zones close to Army training camps.
In the early days of conflict, four soldiers were killed within the District within weeks of each other. Both the Army and Navy subsequently demanded that Storyville be closed down, with the Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels
Josephus Daniels
Josephus Daniels was a newspaper editor and publisher from North Carolina who was appointed by United States President Woodrow Wilson to serve as Secretary of the Navy during World War I...
citing the district as a "bad influence".
The closure was over the strong objections of the New Orleans city government; New Orleans Mayor Martin Behrman
Martin Behrman
Martin Behrman , an American Democratic politician, was the longest-serving mayor in New Orleans history.-Biography:...
pronounced that, "[y]ou can make [prostitution] illegal, but you can't make it unpopular." After 1917, when Storyville was shut down, separate black and white underground dens of prostitution emerged around the city.
The District continued in a more subdued state as an entertainment center through the 1920s, with various dance halls, cabarets and restaurants. Speakeasies
Speakeasy
A speakeasy, also called a blind pig or blind tiger, is an establishment that illegally sells alcoholic beverages. Such establishments came into prominence in the United States during the period known as Prohibition...
, gambling
Gambling
Gambling is the wagering of money or something of material value on an event with an uncertain outcome with the primary intent of winning additional money and/or material goods...
joints and prostitution were also regularly found in the area despite repeated police raids.
Today
Almost all the buildings in the former District were demolished in the 1930s to clear the land for the building of the Iberville ProjectsIberville Projects
Iberville Projects is a neighborhood of the city of New Orleans and one of the Housing Projects of New Orleans. A subdistrict of the Mid-City District Area, its boundaries as defined by the City Planning Commission are: St. Louis Street to the north, Basin Street to the east, Iberville Street to...
. While much of the area contained old and decayed buildings, the old mansions along Basin Street, some of the finest structures in the city, were also leveled. The city government wished to do all it could to blot the notorious district from memory. Basin Street was even renamed "North Saratoga" (although the historic name was restored some 20 years later).
William J. Toye
William J. Toye
William James Toye is an art forger in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He paints in styles copied from Paul Gauguin, Pierre-Auguste Renoir and Alfred Sisley; Toye has also copied the style of Claude Monet. Toye, his wife, and Robert E. Lucky, a New Orleans art dealer, were indicted on charges of...
painted several paintings of Storyville, which were ruined less than two weeks before he was to exhibit them in 1969. A collection of photographs by E. J. Bellocq
E. J. Bellocq
John Ernest Joseph Bellocq was an American professional photographer who worked in New Orleans during the early 20th century. Bellocq is remembered for his haunting photographs of the prostitutes of Storyville, New Orleans' legalized red light district...
depicting Storyville prostitutes was published in 1971 under the title Storyville Portraits.
Films with fictional portrayals of Storyville have included New Orleans
New Orleans (1947 film)
New Orleans is a 1947 musical drama featuring Billie Holiday as a singing maid and Louis Armstrong as a bandleader; supporting players Holiday and Armstrong perform together and portray a couple becoming romantically involved...
(1947), Pretty Baby (1978), and Storyville
Storyville (film)
Storyville is a 1992 film directed by Mark Frost and starring James Spader.-Plot:Cray Fowler, a young candidate for the United States Senate is filmed with a hooker as blackmail. As he investigates, Fowler discovers some family secrets involving his father and their political careers....
(1992).
Famous Persons Connected with Storyville
- Tom AndersonTom AndersonTom Anderson may refer to:*Tom Anderson , entrepreneur and co-founder of MySpace*Tom Anderson , former member of the Alaska State Legislature...
, LouisianaLouisianaLouisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
state legislator - Josie ArlingtonJosie ArlingtonJosie Arlington was a brothel madam in the Storyville district of New Orleans, Louisiana.-Early life:Arlington was born Mary Deubler in New Orleans to German parents. Though very attractive and shrewd, Arlington was known to be short-tempered and violent...
, brothel madam - Louis ArmstrongLouis ArmstrongLouis Armstrong , nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American jazz trumpeter and singer from New Orleans, Louisiana....
, musician and composer - E. J. BellocqE. J. BellocqJohn Ernest Joseph Bellocq was an American professional photographer who worked in New Orleans during the early 20th century. Bellocq is remembered for his haunting photographs of the prostitutes of Storyville, New Orleans' legalized red light district...
, photographer - Buddy BoldenBuddy BoldenCharles "Buddy" Bolden was an African American cornetist and is regarded by contemporaries as a key figure in the development of a New Orleans style of rag-time music which later came to be known as jazz.- Life :...
, seminal jazz musician - Hilma BurtHilma BurtHilma Burt was a brothel madam in Storyville, New Orleans during the early twentieth century...
, brothel madam - Ann Cook, blues singer
- Hattie Hamilton, brothel madam
- Tony Jackson, musician
- Frank Lamothe, promoter
- Gertie Livingston, brothel madam
- Jelly Roll MortonJelly Roll MortonFerdinand Joseph LaMothe , known professionally as Jelly Roll Morton, was an American ragtime and early jazz pianist, bandleader and composer....
, musician and composer - Jimmie NooneJimmie NooneJimmie Noone was an American jazz clarinetist.- Background :...
, musician - Joe "King" Oliver, musician
- Al Rose, author
- May Tuckerman, brothel madam
- Lulu WhiteLulu WhiteLulu White was a brothel madam, procuress and entrepreneur in New Orleans, Louisiana during the Storyville period.An eccentric figure, she was noted for her love of jewelry, her many failed business ventures, and her criminal record that extended in New Orleans as far back as 1880.The exact dates...
, brothel madam - Minnie WhiteMinnie WhiteMinnie White was a Storyville brothel proprietor in the early part of the twentieth century. She operated out of a large mansion at 221 North Basin Street, in New Orleans, Louisiana, between 1907 and 1917. For most or all of that time, she co-owned the structure with another madam, Jessie Brown...
, brothel madam - Pops FosterPops FosterGeorge Murphy "Pops" Foster was a jazz musician best known for his vigorous playing of the string bass. He also played the tuba and trumpet professionally....
, jazz musician
See also
- Free State of GalvestonFree State of GalvestonThe Free State of Galveston was a whimsical name given to the island city of Galveston in the U.S. state of Texas during the early-to-mid-20th century. Today, the term is sometimes used to describe the culture and history of that era...
- New OrleansNew Orleans (1947 film)New Orleans is a 1947 musical drama featuring Billie Holiday as a singing maid and Louis Armstrong as a bandleader; supporting players Holiday and Armstrong perform together and portray a couple becoming romantically involved...
, a film (1947) - Omaha Sporting DistrictSporting DistrictThe Sporting District was an area near 16th and Harney Streets in Omaha, Nebraska where city boss Tom Dennison kept the majority of his gambling, drinking and prostitution interests from the late 19th century until the end of his reign in 1933...
- San Antonio Sporting DistrictSan Antonio Sporting DistrictThe Sporting District in the U.S. city of San Antonio was a red-light district in the late 19th and early 20th century. It was established by the city council to manage prostitution in the city. For a time it was one of the nation's largest vice districts with venues ranging from brothels to...