Overview

At the turn of the twentieth century, one American city did something almost unthinkable: it created a legally recognized red-light district and allowed prostitution to operate openly within its boundaries. Just north of the French Quarter, a sixteen-block district emerged where brothels, saloons, dance halls, and music houses operated under city supervision. The neighborhood became known as Storyville. Elegant parlor houses welcomed wealthy visitors, smaller establishments catered to sailors and laborers, and guidebooks known as Blue Books advertised the district's brothels to travelers arriving from across the country. Storyville quickly became one of the most famous vice districts in the United States. Within its streets powerful madams built thriving businesses while musicians helped shape the early sounds of jazz that would soon spread far beyond New Orleans. In Storyville: Vice and Jazz in New Orleans, historian Gavin Benoit explores the rise and fall of this unusual urban experiment. Drawing on historical records, photographs, and contemporary accounts, the book traces how the district was created, how it operated, and why it ultimately disappeared in 1917.

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