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madameverdi. Sorry.]
Where or what was Storyville, and who was E.J. Bellocq?
In 1897, the city of New Orleans responded to the social issues created by prostitution by creating a legalized red-light district, modeled on those in German and Dutch cities. Under an ordinance proposed by city councilman Sidney Story, prostitution was to be legalized and restricted to a neighborhood adjacent to the French Quarter, which came be nicknamed "Storyville" after the councilman.
In addition to being the home to some pretty amazing brothels (along with some cheap "cribs" for poorer prostitutes), the district played an important role in the development of jazz. Jelly Roll Morton, among many others, made a living as a "professor" -- a piano player for a bordello parlor.
By all accounts, Storyville was a thriving commercial district. There were even directories of prostitutes working in the district -- the "Blue Books", compiled by a former police reporter. The directories advertised the quality of the women and the bordellos, although like a shady escort service, they never actually used the word "sex." Among the attributes listed in the Blue Books were the race of the prostitutes.
Unfortunately, Storyville lasted only 20 years before the Navy closed it down during World War I. In the 1930s, most of the historic district was razed, making way for the Iberville housing project -- keeping with the Southern tendency to bulldoze pieces of their history that are post-bellum and/or somehow disreputable. The Iberville project is today itself threatened, mainly because it sits on land which is adjacent to the French Quarter and hence valuable -- among the proposals are a new football stadium for the Saints.
E.J. Bellocq was a professional photographer who was born in and worked in New Orleans in the first half of the 20th century. Although he made his living taking pictures of landmarks and warehouses and the like, he is best known today as the photographer of the prostitutes of Storyville. Most of his work was destroyed when he died. However, he had hidden the negatives to the Storyville photos in his sofa, where they were later discovered. The striking portraits all show individual women, some nude, some not, some masked, and some with their faces scratched out.
Bellocq was a central figure in the (fictional) film Pretty Baby, starring Brooke Shields.
madameverdi. Sorry.]Where or what was Storyville, and who was E.J. Bellocq?
In 1897, the city of New Orleans responded to the social issues created by prostitution by creating a legalized red-light district, modeled on those in German and Dutch cities. Under an ordinance proposed by city councilman Sidney Story, prostitution was to be legalized and restricted to a neighborhood adjacent to the French Quarter, which came be nicknamed "Storyville" after the councilman.
In addition to being the home to some pretty amazing brothels (along with some cheap "cribs" for poorer prostitutes), the district played an important role in the development of jazz. Jelly Roll Morton, among many others, made a living as a "professor" -- a piano player for a bordello parlor.
By all accounts, Storyville was a thriving commercial district. There were even directories of prostitutes working in the district -- the "Blue Books", compiled by a former police reporter. The directories advertised the quality of the women and the bordellos, although like a shady escort service, they never actually used the word "sex." Among the attributes listed in the Blue Books were the race of the prostitutes.
Unfortunately, Storyville lasted only 20 years before the Navy closed it down during World War I. In the 1930s, most of the historic district was razed, making way for the Iberville housing project -- keeping with the Southern tendency to bulldoze pieces of their history that are post-bellum and/or somehow disreputable. The Iberville project is today itself threatened, mainly because it sits on land which is adjacent to the French Quarter and hence valuable -- among the proposals are a new football stadium for the Saints.
E.J. Bellocq was a professional photographer who was born in and worked in New Orleans in the first half of the 20th century. Although he made his living taking pictures of landmarks and warehouses and the like, he is best known today as the photographer of the prostitutes of Storyville. Most of his work was destroyed when he died. However, he had hidden the negatives to the Storyville photos in his sofa, where they were later discovered. The striking portraits all show individual women, some nude, some not, some masked, and some with their faces scratched out.
Bellocq was a central figure in the (fictional) film Pretty Baby, starring Brooke Shields.