NO_Disappearance

   Storyville, the only legal Red Light district in the country at the time, lasted from 1897 to 1917. It was eventually closed by order of the U. S. Department of the Navy. By that time, the District's fortunes had already declined and its political power had started to wane. Within 25 years of its closing, most of the buildings of Storyville had disappeared.
   In 1938, the neighborhood had become very run down. By 1939, less than a year after it was formed, HANO had purchased and demolished most of what had been Storyville and erected in its place the Authority's first project, the Iberville Housing Project.
   While many saw no reason to mourn the loss of the sometimes gaudy excesses of the sporting palaces and the haphazard architecture of the clubs and saloons of Storyville, none will deny that the wholesale destruction of sixteen square blocks of the neighborhood where jazz was nurtured and developed by the legendary music pioneers of the day, is certainly to be deeply regretted.
   Much was lost in the decades before citizens realized the danger and formed preservationist associations in New Orleans to stop the ill-conceived demolitions that had already robbed the city of some of its history. These groups have been very successful.
   But, in the wake of the levee failures in 2005, when so much was lost, it's even more critical to continue to try to save as much as can possibly be saved.

The wide street in the foreground is Canal Street and the prominent building with the arch, facing Canal is the Southern Railroad Terminal designed by Daniel Burnham and constructed in 1908. It was demolished after the Union Passenger Terminal was built in 1954. The train sheds stretching out behind Southern Terminal parallel Basin Street, one of Storyville's boundaries. You can see Krauss Department store just beyond the train station; Krauss opened in 1903. Some time after Storyville was closed, Krauss purchased virtually the entire 200 block of Basin Street, and constructed warehouses and parking lots on the spots where the mansions of Tom Anderson, Josie Arlington and Lulu White had once stood.

Above, the impressive Southern Railroad Terminal.
Right, Basin Street after the Terminal and train sheds were gone. The land where the station and train sheds stood was designated as the "Garden of the Americas." Monuments dedicated to 3 Latin American heroes were erected along Basin Street between Canal and the Municipal Auditorium.

Basin Street, looking south from St. Louis Street, during demolition of train
sheds; Southern Terminal can be seen in the distance on Canal Street; 1954.

Same view as above, closer to Canal Street; rear of Southern Terminal can be seen clearly; buildings on the right, part of the Krauss Department Store complex. The Saenger Theatre (left of Terminal, facing Canal) was built in 1925, on a narrow block, which, interestingly, allowed access to it from 4 streets. It was designed by the firm of Emile Weil & Associates. Prior to the building of the theater, this square was filled with three-level townhouses; six faced Canal Street, four faced the side of the Southern Terminal and four faced N. Rampart Street. Mahogany Hall and The Palace, Lulu White and Josie Arlington's sporting palaces, once stood to the right in this photo, where the large Krauss building is now located.

Basin Street, looking north from Iberville Street during the train sheds demolition, 1954. The steeple from the Yellow Fever Mortuary Chapel, on N. Rampart Street, can be seen in the distance.

Basin, looking north from Iberville after some of the work on the neutral ground had been completed. This is a wider view and a couple of the Iberville Housing Project buildings, which replaced most of Storyville, can be seen on the left. The Municipal Auditorium, or part of it, can be spotted in the distance, to the left.

Same as photo above, different angle.

The photos above and below were just outside of Storyville, but I thought some of you might like to see these shots of Rampart Street. Above, Puglia's Supermarket (veal roast, 59 cents a pound); notice St. Mark's Methodist Church further down the block - it's been in this location since 1916; below, Gino's Restaurant and next to it, Levin's Furniture Store.

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When the night falls on Storyville,
if the women don't get ya, the music will.
-- J. R. Robertson, from the album, "Storyville"