Storyville, New Orleans

I've read a few articles about Storyville and just find the whole area, and time, to be so interesting.

The photos of E.J. Bellocq just speaks to me.

Do any of your NOLA folks have any inside scoop on this historical area that promoted ... well, what we do?

Have any of you read about Storyville or the few books out there about it?

Hugs,
Elisabeth

Here is a thread about it. Very interesting:
https://www.eccie.net/showthread.php?t=2013922



Post #1

What is Storyville? Is it an area,
certain types, a brothel etc.

Maybe Annie or even Melissa can chime in and share what history they may know.

I don't know enough about these parts to know enough to share any stories.
I'd love to hear (read) some famous folktales

I love these famous photos. Each photo has it's own story.











This image has been resized. Click this bar to view the full image. The original image is sized %1%2.

Seeking ~P that was a very good and interesting thread.

M.M.

Storyville was very interesting. New Orleans had always been known for frivolity, drinking and pleasures of the flesh. At the onset of prohibition, these brothels continued to be places for gentleman to seek extra fun with ladies other than their spouses, but also locations where people could partake in alcohol, which, of course, was also illegal. After many attempts by local law enforcement to crack down on these brothels and the speakeasies which surrounded them, it quickly became apparent that there was no shutting down the red light district in New Orleans. This was for numbers of reasons, among these reasons were that as soon as a brothel was closed, the madames would quickly reopen under a new name, and mostly because the most powerful politicians in the city were the biggest customers, police included, and often the brothels and speakeasies were tipped off prior to raids. After realizing there would be no shutting down the district, councilman Sydney Story proposed that these businesses be legal, but only in an area pre-determined by the city. (I believe this area was bounded by Rampart to Chartres, and Esplanade to Canal.) This was eventually voted on and approved, and because he proposed the law, the redlight district became known as "Storyville." Sidney Story HATED that this area was named after him, but that was what it was. Storyville is also notable because it became the birthplace of jazz since most brothels provided musical entertainment in the parlors where gentleman would wait, lounge, and enjoy drinks. Furthermore, Storyville brothels offered ladies of all races, shapes, sizes, and backgrounds. There were also Madames of differing races, shapes, sizes, and backgrounds, with a few of the most powerful madames in the district being African-American women. Furthermore, clientele was also very diverse, often consisting of all races, and it was not uncommon for clientele to be from working class men up to the most powerful politicians and business men in the city. There were also pamphlets released quarterly in newspaper format that advertised the madames, described the opulence of the brothels, and advertised the ladies/paramours and their strengths and talents. These sometimes included photos (as P has posted). I'm a big New Orleans history buff, and i have always been fascinated with Storyville. Hope this info helps

Very sexy sensual and interesting

http://www.storyvilledistrictnola.com/ this one of the best treatments of this section of town. Jazz was allegedly born here as well, on the pianos in these large mansion brothels. "Big easy" was a nickname that the musicians gave this city because it was easy to find a gig here.

"Placage" is another interesting part of prostitution in the city. When the Yankees won the war they refused to do business with the black population (and ended other institutions), including the free black businesses that had been thriving for generations. Many of these former privileged women and economically secure, if not wealthy women, ended up in brothels. Therefore there was a time when black women made more money than any other type of prostitute in NOLA, when the institution of placage ended and the businesses the women owned were shunned. The pamphlets at the time (their version of eccie I suppose) would list the women's attributes, and these women were the belle of the ball.

Storyville was actually the closest you could get to what America was supposed to be at that time. Black and white people gathered, partied, and of course prostitution and gambling were there. Interracial marriages even took place in that area. It was shut down under the guise of keeping the nearby troops stationed there moral. The real reason is that the federal government didn't like the race mixing. It didn't OPENLY go on anywhere else at that time. Only in NOLA.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Storyville,_New_Orleans

They didn't like it because Yankees are hypocrites. They destroyed legitimate black businesses too, even from people that had always been free. There were people from around the world, not just Africa. Family businesses generations old.

Brothels in Storyville made more money on booze than women.

The Blue Book

http://https://www.hnoc.org/publications/first-draft/nine-ways-blue-books-sold-fantasy-new-orleans-storyville-district

If you've a mind, read EMPIRE OF SIN by Gary Krist. It goes into how New Orleans went from a fairly mixed race town in the mid 1800s to how Jim Crow segregation was instituted in NOLA - and why it was pretty violently, but futilely, resisted. It directly links how Storyville got its start, how it ran, and why it was abolished. Fascinating book and a great intro to how NOLA was sooooooo different than any other southern city.