A vintage postcard shows a birds-eye view of New Orleans, Louisiana. The cityscape is filled with historic buildings, streets, and rooftops, capturing the architecture and feel of the early 20th century.

Postcard showing view of Storyville, New Orleans: C. B. Mason, ca. 1904–1908 HNOC, 1979.362.16

Storyville

Madams and Music

An award-winning exploration of the sights and sounds of New Orleans’s former red-light district.

April 5 to December 9, 2017

410 Chartres Street

Williams Research Center

Named Exhibition of the Year by the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities, Storyville: Madams and Music revived the sights and sounds of New Orleans’s former red-light district on the 100-year anniversary of its closing. Using a diverse display of photographs, maps, postcards, contemporary objects, and the infamous blue books that served as directories to the District’s prostitutes, the exhibition encouraged a better understanding of the music, people, and businesses that shaped the complicated legacies of Storyville.

Formed by an 1897 ordinance, introduced by Alderman Sidney Story, Storyville was a legally sanctioned prostitution district located just north of the French Quarter. The varied attractions of sex, music, and dance emanating from the District’s brothels, saloons, and beer halls lured visitors from around the country, giving rise to a nationally important tourism center. Pioneering musicians like Manuel “Fess” Manetta, Jelly Roll Morton, and Joe “King” Oliver experimented with new styles and techniques there, and in the same year the District closed—1917— the Original Dixieland Jazz Band released the first jazz record, “Livery Stable Blues.”

Storyville: Madams and Music guided visitors through the rise and fall of the neighborhood, that helped shape the notorious reputation that adheres to New Orleans today. The exhibition’ opening complemented HNOC’s book, Guidebooks to Sin: The Blue Books of Storyville, New Orleans, the first thorough contemporary study of these rare guides, which was released in February 2017.