[Dixielandjazz] Basin Street

[TBW504 at aol.com]

In view of the recent postings about Basin Street I thought the  following 
might be of interest, and clear up the delusion that prostitution was  "legal" 
in the District (few if any New Orleanians refer to Storyville): 
 
STORY, (Alderman) Sidney
1863: New  Orleans      c1937
Alderman Sidney Story was  responsible for the carefully prepared legislation 
and sleight of hand which  allowed for the setting up of an area of New 
Orleans where prostitution and  brothels were tolerated, which was passed in 1897 
and survived until 1917.  Previous legislative bills allowing for prostitution 
had been repeatedly thrown  out. The first attempt was in 1857 when the 
Lorette Ordinance attempted to  conceal prostitution by forbidding brothels in 
single storey structures or on  the ground floor of multiple storey buildings. Lewd 
dress and behaviour on the  streets was forbidden, and there was a fee-paying 
licensing system for both  whores and landlords. But this attempt was soon 
struck out by local and state  courts, though eight years later a similar 
ordinance was adopted. "Lorette" by  the way is French slang for the Parisian 
prostitutes who offered their services  in the vicinity of the Church of Notre Dame 
de Lorette. Cleverly, Story's  sophistry worded the successful bill to state 
that prostitution would not be  permitted outside a designated area thus 
avoiding overt permission. Clever,  what? The actual ordinance (number 13845 of July 
6, 1897) went as follows: From  and after the first of October, 1897, it 
shall be unlawful for any prostitute or  woman notoriously abandoned to lewdness, 
to occupy, inhabit, live or sleep in  any house, room or closet situated 
without the following limits, viz: from the  South side of Customhouse Street to 
the North side St. Louis Street, and from  the lower side of Basin Street to the 
lower side of Robertson Street; 2nd (This  second part of the schedule 
delineates what could be described as "black  Storyville"): And from the upper part 
of Perdido (According Gill's Stories  Behind New Orleans Street Name, Perdido 
is the past participle of the Spanish  word "perder" (to lose) and the street 
was so named because it originally led to  a swamp and was lost, specially 
when there were floods) Street to the lower side  of Gravier Street, and from the 
river side of Franklin Street to the lower side  of Locust Street, provided 
that nothing herein shall be construed as to  authorise any lewd woman to 
occupy a house, room or closet in any part of the  city. Although the area so 
defined was usually known to locals as the District,  to the rest of the world it 
became celebrated as "Storyville" much to the  Alderman's chagrin. He is said 
to have hated jazz and can one blame him? Perhaps  it was he who inspired the 
justly celebrated vocal line, "Give me that  razza-ma-tazz; I like it better 
than jazz." (Two of Story's lesser-known  ordinances: one was designed to 
control women who took money for spiritual  activities, presumably aimed at people 
like Marie Laveau. The other prevented a  number of priests from establishing a 
school for blacks on Esplanade Avenue. The  fact that the Story family home 
was on Esplanade has absolutely nothing to do  with his opposition.) The 
District was closed as a result of a U.S. governmental  order in August 1917 banning 
prostitution within five miles of a military or  naval installation. After 
delaying tactics and appeals the last of the brothels  and cribs were supposed 
to have been closed by November 12th, but in fact  prostitution continued much 
as usual elsewhere in the city. In the District  there is evidence that 
instead of closing some brothels merely refused admission  to men in uniform whilst, 
naturally, the NOPD continued their traditional policy  of stoutly refusing 
all bribes.
Brian Wood