Storyville was established July 6, 1897, in an attempt by the New Orleans City Council to control rampant prostitution in the city by limiting it to a 38-block area on the edge of the French Quarter. Mansions, saloons and low-cost "cribs" lined the streets of Storyville, which New Orleanians nicknamed after the alderman who introduced the measure, Sidney Story.
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Storyville, bounded by Customhouse (Iberville), North Basin (North Saratoga), St. Louis and North Robertson streets, operated until Nov. 12, 1917. U.S. military officials convinced the city that Storyville was a bad influence for WWI troops stationed near New Orleans.
In the district's heyday, property owners, madames, liquor retailers and other anonymous interested parties published guides to the red-light district, known as Blue Books, from 1898 to 1915.
E.J. Bellocq documented Storyville's prostitutes through a series of portraits, discovered after his death in 1949. The photographs, taken in the early 1900s, showcase the lives and work of women who often existed on society's fringes.
Little is known about Bellocq's life, but his photographs have inspired several fictional portrayals of him in books and movies, including 1978's "Pretty Baby." The film, which starred a 12-year-old Brooke Shields, was filmed in New Orleans at the Columns Hotel.
Lulu White was one of the most famous madames in Storyville. Her brothel, the four-story Mahogany Hall, employed 40 prostitutes and contained 15 bedrooms and five parlors. White was often in trouble with the law. Though most of her charges were related to serving liquor without a license and running an "immoral house," she was also known to grow violent when patrons threatened her business or her employees.Tom Anderson, a businessman and politician known as the mayor of Storyville, owned several restaurants, saloons and brothels in the area. When Storyville was shuttered, Anderson's heyday ended. In 1920, he was charged in federal court with knowingly conducting an immoral resort within 10 miles of a military camp. The charge was eventually dropped.
Storyville played a role in jazz history. Pianist Jelly Roll Morton was one of the iconic musicians who got his start playing in Storyville's brothels and saloons.
Tomorrow, 1904: John McDonogh's bequest to New Orleans.
