The Women of Storyville and E. J. Bellocq - Photographer

Storyville was the designated legal “red light district” of New Orleans from 1898 to 1917.  It is estimated that at one time there were more than three thousand prostitutes and madams living and working in brothels and cribs within the boundaries of Storyville.

As New Orleans was a port city, prostitution was a profitable business for many women and most prevalent for many years prior to the creation of Storyville.  In order to prevent a madam from setting up shop next door to a respectable citizen, the city officials, particularly Sidney Story, passed a law that set restrictions within which prostitution could be practiced legally in New Orleans.

Storyville, or the “District,” lay within the boundaries of Canal Street to St. Louis Street and Claiborne Avenue to Basin Street.  Brothels with names such as Mahogany Hall, Lulu White’s Salon and Josie Arlington’s “The Arlington” were magnificent mansions with fine furnishings.  The women and brothels were “advertised” in the Blue Book and the women handed out their business cards that discreetly offered their services.  

Ernest Bellocq, a maritime photographer, was fascinated with the prostitutes living in Storyville.  A man thought to be odd by his peers, Bellocq was accepted by the the prostitures and allowed to roam freely among the brothels, befriending the women whose portraits he captured.  Although many of his photographs are nudes, none are pornographic.  You can see in the faces of many of his subject’s innocence and an almost childlike quality.

Bellocq’s photographs went undiscovered until many years after his death.  Only a small number of glass negatives were found, many in poor condition and some even vandalized intentionally.  They were published in several books and exhibited many times in galleries around the country.

The film “Pretty Baby” starring Brooke Shields, Keith Carradine and Susan Sarandon was based on the life of Bellocq and was inspired by the photograph of the girl on the wicker divan.  He remains a mystery and is still a fascinating individual.  As an artist, I have loved Bellocq's work since seeing the first photograph.  

Storyville was closed down by the U.S. Department of Navy in 1917 because so many of their sailors were infected with venereal diseases that the Navy attributed to the Storyville women.  They considered it a risk to national security.  Storyville was later torn down and the Iberville Housing Project was built on its site.  Hardly anything remains of Storyville today.