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Mardi Gras Memoirs: The Secret Parade
Mardi Gras has been a part of my life from the very beginning. I have always celebrated it as a spiritual holiday as I was raised Catholic in Louisiana. I have experienced Mardi Gras many different ways, including marching as a majorette in high school, going to Mardi Gras balls, and throwing ashes in the river. There is still so much Mardi Gras left to experience, but here I share my experience of a tradition that goes back to the beginning of Mardi Gras — street masquerades. May my memories give color to your perception of the spirit of Carnival.
Mirth and Discord and Fantasy
A lot of nonsense happens during Mardi Gras. Scammers descend on the city for the influx of tourists. Underground parties attract like minds. Rivers of drugs and money and liquor flow alongside the Mississippi for the two weeks leading up to Fat Tuesday.
Among the illegal activities happening around town are unauthorized, secret parades. Parades designed and executed without any city approval, planned or approved route, or prior mention that it will be happening. These parades are unadvertised. You’re lucky if you get a glimpse because they pass by your house.
Or maybe you’re lucky enough to find yourself in the orbit of the very talented artists who make Mardi Gras. They have the secret recipes for rain defying papier mâché used on floats. They have the skilled hands that sculpt paint and plaster into Bœuf Gras (the fattened calf), jesters, and the current mayor.
They become the people who extend these skills to secret and brilliant parades and parties during Carnival season. These motley krewes guard their secrets closely because they lack permits. One year, I managed to piece together clues with a friend to join one of those secret parades.
The History
The first articles that we find in the newspaper about Carnival celebrations in New Orleans are about fancy dress (or costume) balls.
Getting to the balls quickly becomes part of the custom. Parading through the streets in costumes without any planned route, sometimes in groups, became the Carnival tradition.
The Picayune, February 8, 1837, page 2 In the late 1830s, informal parades were organized, according to the Mardi Gras display at The Cabildo. This is, however, also when The Picayune was established, the most thoroughly archived newspaper…When something seems to appear in the late 1830s in New Orleans, I’m skeptical that this is actually when we have the first documentation of it in our newspaper archive.
The 1847 write up discusses violent occurrences including throwing flour and mud at maskers, but that the balls were quote “a redeeming and agreeable feature in the celebrations of the day” unquote.
Formal parades were first planned in 1857 with Comus, but there was no planned route. The the story goes, six men from Mobile, Alabama, invited their friends to meet at the Gem Coffeehouse on Royal Street to form the Mistick Krewe of Comus, coining the word Krewe and modern Mardi Gras secret societies. In Greek mythology, Comus, the god of festivity, is the cup bearer of Dionysus. Bacchus is another name for Dionysus, the god of wine and theater.
In 1857, they pulled off a parade with a theme of Paradise Lost. The Library of Congress has a Mardi Gras handbook printed in 1874 that explains each of the parades from the beginning until it was printed1. Comus pursued elaborate themes for their parades. They did not plan or announce the routes, so the crowds were out looking for Comus to appear.
The New Orleans Republican, May 3, 1872, page 7 Rex first paraded in 1872. They envisioned the new krewe as a daytime tourist spectacle. Rex was an attempt to establish order around the chaos that led to violence on previous Mardi Gras celebrations. They also decided on the traditional colors — purple for justice, gold for power and green for faith — although we didn’t get the meanings until 1892, according to Arthur Hardy2. The governor signed the Mardi Gras Act in 1872 also, making Mardi Gras a legal holiday in Louisiana.
1904 was the first mention I could find about the Zulu parade. Zulu is clearly mocking the fake royalty of the old line Mardi Gras krewes, which is a large part of the Mardi Gras tradition. Today, some of the most popular parades are satirical krewes that harshly mock the city’s leadership.
The Weekly Times-Picayune, Fri, Feb 19, 1904 ·Page 3 The Gathering
I knew what day but nothing else. My friend found where they were meeting using Adderall-induced focus, multiple social media platforms, and an extended network of New Orleanians. We got dressed even though we still didn’t know the theme and found exactly what we expected — hundreds of costumed revelers ready to celebrate the themed parade. The theme was not readily apparent.
A man had a cart loaded with candles shaped like hands that burned the whole parade. It was my friend’s birthday, so she pinned money to her costume, as you do. She was gifted a poster commemorating the event. She didn’t have a bag, honestly didn’t seem to care about the poster, and asked me to hold it for her. I framed it to give to her as a birthday gift. But I still have the poster.
We started somewhere under the interstate. I’m not sure where it ended and I can’t remember if that’s because we didn’t finish the parade or the location was too obscure to identify.
The next morning, my friend sent me a video she saw on Instagram of us walking in the parade. Someone who lived on the route had filmed us going by with an “only in New Orleans” type caption.
Part II
The next year I had more intel on where and when and went with another friend. We even managed to find the ball a few weeks before the parade, where I learned one of the best lessons of throwing a party.
The decorations for the event were, of course, amazing. But I was most impressed by a woman stationed at the door who greeted every guest and complimented them. She gushed sincere praise for costumes, outfits, wigs, and makeup for every single person who entered. It was the most generous good vibes, and I’ve never forgotten how she made everyone feel that night.
We knew the parade theme this time — Sports.
I dressed as a cheerleader — spandex, sparkles, and enthusiasm. Many groups had planned performances to correlate with their costumes. There was another group of cheerleaders with a whole routine, including stunts.
The Trophy from the sports themed secret Mardi Gras parade The most creative costume ensemble I saw was curlers who curled across the street (while the light was green and cars were waiting) with a stone made from a rotisserie chicken container. No horns were honked and much laughter ensued.
The parade ended in a neighborhood park where any sport you could imagine was played in acid-soaked extreme.
IYKYK
So many revelers will brag about riding on huge floats in the big parades, indicating that they spent thousands of dollars to reign above the crowds.
I prefer to be down on the street but still behind a mask like the original revelers, celebrating in experiences ignored by the masses and cherished by those who know. Even if it takes days to piece together clues to join the party. Because, ultimately, figuring it out, admiring the creativity, and indulging in ancient myths is part of the party.
What’s your favorite Mardi Gras memory?
Sources
- Madden, John W., Pub. Hand book of the carnival, containing Mardi-Gras, its ancient and modern observance
. New Orleans, J. W. Madden, printer, 1874. Pdf. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/13018464/>. ↩︎ - Hardy, Arthur. Mardi Gras in New Orleans: An Illustrated History. ↩︎
- Madden, John W., Pub. Hand book of the carnival, containing Mardi-Gras, its ancient and modern observance
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Red Light Liz and Joe the Whipper
Have you heard the tales of Red Light Liz and Joe the Whipper? The supposed lovers of the red light district of New Orleans who trafficked in creative names and masochistic pleasure? They appear in many oft-cited versions of the history of New Orleans.
I hadn’t heard of them either. When I recognized the overlapping accounts in three different sources, I realized that the three men who wrote about Red Light twisted and abused her story to paint a different idea of what life was like in the red light districts of New Orleans that eventually erupted into the only quasi-legal red light district in the United States, Storyville.
515 Dauphine, Formerly 111 Dauphine There are three prominent, but differing, accounts of Red Light that most retellings are referencing — The French Quarter by Herbert Asbury from 1936, Sportin’ House by Stephen Longstreet from 1965, and Storyville, New Orleans by Al Rose from 1974. Then there’s what happened according to the newspaper reports, which is, of course, completely different from the story the writers told. And then there’s the court cases.
What really happened?
I’m not sure if it’s possible to understand Red Light’s story as it actually happened, but maybe we can learn from the variations of the story. With the clues from Asbury’s version, I found the newspaper articles he was referencing.
From there, I found the court records. I had to wait two weeks for the City Archives to flatten the records. The cases are hand written and folded in thirds seemingly since they were written, so roughly 140 years. If Asbury did reference the court cases, they were last referenced in the 1930s, so about 90 years ago. But you’ll learn that I do not think he did reference the primary documents.
Joe the Whipper by Herbert Asbury
“From about 1850 to the early 1880s, except for infrequent clean-up periods, conditions in Dauphine and Burgundy Streets were so bad as to be almost unbelievable. From Canal to Toulouse Streets virtually every building was a brothel, filled with fighting, brawling strumpets of the lowest class. The whole area fairly swarmed with streetwalkers and their ‘fancy men,’ and in the absence of permanent quarters the perambulating bawds flung a piece of old carpet on the sidewalk and entertained their customers in full view of passers-by and the prostitutes in the houses, who screamed advice and abuse from the windows and kept pails of hot water handy to discourage use of the doorsteps. Inside the bordellos prices ranged from fifteen to fifty cents; on the sidewalk the standard rate was a dime. Many of these women were addicted to flagellation, and their needs in this respect were served by a professional flaggellant called Joe the Whipper, who was a familiar figure on Dauphine and Burgundy Streets for many years. He carried with him always a black bag containing the tools of his trade — switches, whips, and thin, flexible metal rods.
I think Asbury is the original source for the Joe the Whipper story. I did not find any other mentions earlier than this. That means that the first reference to Joe the Whipper is at least 50 years after the events took place.
Joe the Whipper by Stephen Longstreet
“In Dauphine and Burgundy Streets, Canal to Toulouse Streets, nearly every building is a brothel. Streets swarm with streetwalkers and fancy men. Some put a piece of carpet on the sidewalk and entertain customers in view of passersby. Pails of hot water were kept to discourage use of the doorsteps. Inside prices were fifteen to fifty cents; on the sidewalk a dime. Many women were addicted to the whip and were served by a specialist, who at his trade of flagellant was called Joe the Whipper. He carried a black bag for the tools of his trade—switches, whips, flexible metal rods, cat of nine-tails. [He worked for years unmolested, servicing his clients powerfully.]”
Longstreet is discredited. However, he is clearly referencing Asbury here and hewed closely to his story. Except where he adds the embellishment that Joe was unmolested and powerful.
Red Light Liz by Herbert Asbury
“At No. 111 Dauphine Street was a brothel which was described by the Picayune in 1885 as the worst Negro dive in the city, and which at that time was the particular haunt of Red Light Liz, the sweetheart of Joe the Whipper and a noted brawler.”
Red Light Liz and Joe the Whipper by Al Rose
“Mortality among law enforcement officers was high, and the police soon learned to tackle the Gallatin Street beat only in groups. The street was the center of narcotics traffic, as well as the home of dealers in stolen goods. Fugitives from every nation’s laws found shelter here.
“Mike Haden, who had so thoroughly ventilated his brother with a razor; America Williams, ‘the world’s strongest whore’; Mary Schwartz, who had permanently blinded a customer in a row over her fifty-cent fee; Red-Light Liz, the one-eyed paramour of Joe the Whipper, who made a good living administering beatings to masochistic harlots, using whips, switches, steel rods, razor straps, or canes, according to the lady’s preference—such as these were typical of those who found safe haven on Gallatin Street.”
Rose moves the whole operation to Gallatin Street instead of Dauphine, and, inexplicably, makes Liz one-eyed. He also adds razor straps to Joe’s repertory, which seems unnecessarily bloody.
What the Newspapers Say
I found Red Light in the newspapers using the clues Asbury gives us in the The French Quarter. Although that story is very different from any of the accounts in the three books. Her name is Jennie not Liz. She is a notorious thief in most of the reports.
Red Light The Times-Picayune Tue, Jun 23, 1885 ·Page 2 It seems like the next article may be Joe the Whipper. If it is, I’m astonished that Asbury turned this story of domestic violence into anything consensual. If she’s screaming for help, she is not addicted to your beating.
Joe the Whipper? The Times-Picayune Tue, Oct 30, 1883, page 2 Sometimes we get things wrong because we misunderstood. Sometimes we get things wrong because we forgot. Sometimes we turn the tale into a whole new one to protect the men? To condemn the women? To entertain? Did he change her name to protect her memory?
Beyond the fanciful tales and shocking news reports, what do the records say? I found police records and court cases for Red Light and Rosamie. I also found the census and directory records for 111 Dauphine Street.
What the Court Cases Say
I found seven arrest records for Red Light and two corresponding cases in the criminal court files.
In 1884, the police accused Red Light and Rosamie of murdering an old man named Wade Hampton, resulting in most references to the couple. The victim’s alias was Dad, and the police thought Red Light and Rosamie murdered him to rob him. According to the newspaper, the case was dismissed because of a lack of evidence.
Earlier in 1884, Red Light is among those accused of robbing a man named David Rosenbaum. For this case we have the arrest record, the court documents, and newspaper articles to gather information from.
The Times-Picayune, February 4, 1884, page 1 
The Times-Picayune, February 9, 1884, page 2 Rosenbaum claimed that Victoria Williams and Lizzie Woods stole $525 from him. Jennie Red Light and Joseph Ben were accessories to the theft when the police found $271 under their mattress, and Rosenbaum claimed it was his. Rosenbaum disappeared before the four were prosecuted. Thus, they were not guilty in April 1884.
It’s unclear what happened to the $271, but it possibly disappeared with Rosenbaum. It makes me wonder if that was his money, if his money was stolen at all, if perhaps he made a few easy bucks by accusing others with reputations for thievery and taking their money?
I did not find Jennie in the census or directories. But I did find a marriage record for Joseph Ben and Mary Robinson. Could Jennie’s real name be Mary? I couldn’t find Mary in the census either.
The Johns: Audubon
111 Dauphine is now 509-515 Dauphine. It is a complex of buildings known as the Audubon Cottages, luxury rooms for visitors to New Orleans since 1975. In 1975, the entire complex sold to Audubon Cottages, Ltd. for $150,000.
Built in 1827, John Audubon reportedly stayed here in the 1820s. There is doubt that he did because of the fact that a free woman of color named Henriette Prieto owned the property from 1822-1841. Henriette was the partner of Jean Baptiste Barthelemy MaCarty, who was the first cousin of Delphine Lalaurie. She owned several properties in the French Quarter, so she probably rented some of them out. It’s possible John Audubon was one of the renters. She also bought and sold enslaved people. She left this property to three of her children who owned it until it was sold to John Langles.
The Johns: Langles
John Langles owned this property from 1871-1901, according to the Historic New Orleans Collection. John was the president of the Union Sanitation Excavating Company, cleaning privies according to the census. He died in 1890 in France. His wife and daughter’s death in an 1898 shipwreck resulted in a historic succession case, which is listed on the daughter’s tomb.
Angele’s tombstone in Metairie Cemetery. Photo by the author © 2026. Inscription: Angele Marie Langles, 105 LA. 39 The mother and daughter both left their estates to each other, and then died together in the shipwreck. The courts had to decide who died first to figure out how the succession should proceed. Ultimately, it was decided that since the daughter was younger and a swimmer that she would outlive her mother in the disaster. The stone bridge in city park is named after the daughter, Angele, because she included City Park in her will.
Langles Bridge in City Park, photo by the author © 2026 The Langles were extremely wealthy and owned a lot of property. They never lived at 111 Dauphine.
In the 1880 census, 111 Dauphine houses Frank Fritz, his wife Mary, and their servant Louise Band. The 1890 census, was famously destroyed in a 1921 fire. In the 1900 census, 515 Dauphine is where Hone Chake, a Chinese immigrant, lives.
In the 1886 New Orleans City Directory, Mrs. Frederick Fritz is providing furnished rooms. This coincides with the census information showing the Fritzes at 111 Dauphine in 1880. Mrs. Fritz is probably renting the rooms to Red Light and Lizzie and Victoria.
Conclusion
I recognize that it’s only recently that we can find these stories in the newspaper record so easily. The previous writers are using Asbury’s research for their stories. Did Asbury assume that Red Light’s denying that Rosamie struck her was an indication that she sought the beating? Why did Rose change the story to Gallatin Street and steal one of her eyes? He lists Asbury as one of his sources.
Red Light’s torture became a risque story of the vice of New Orleans repeated for generations as an example of how sinful, depraved, craven the women of the Crescent City can get.
This story doesn’t just appear in these three books. A quick Google search reveals that Joe the Whipper has been immortalized recently too, including a murder mystery dinner theater/game that was happening on Frenchmen Street in the 2020s.
Isn’t it funny that the guest house at 515 Dauphine, which really was a “den of thieves”, uses a story bout John Audubon for marketing while another hotel up the street uses a story of a brothel for theirs.
Sources
- Asbury, Herbert. The French Quarter: An Informal History of the New Orleans Underworld. Thunder’s Mouth Press, New York, NY. © 1936, page 388.
- Longstreet, Stephen. Sportin’ House: New Orleans and the Jazz Story. Sherbourne Press, Inc. Los Angeles, California. © 1965, page 196.
- Rose, Al. Storyville, New Orleans: Being an Authentic, Illustrated Account of the Notorious Red-Light District. The University of Alabama Press. © 1974, page 9.
- “513-515 Dauphine,” The Collins C. Diboll Vieux Carre Digital Survey. https://vcs.hnoc.org/property_info.php?lot=18959
- Jochum, Kimberly. “Langles Bridge,” New Orleans Historical, accessed January 4, 2026, https://neworleanshistorical.org/items/show/114.
- Brunet, Jennie. No. 4705, Sec. A. Grand Larceny, Nolle Prosequi (1885)
- Brunet, Jennie. No. 2188, Sec. A. Murder, Not a True Bill (1883?)
- Benton, Joseph. No. 4360 Sec. B. Assault and Battery, Nolle Prosequi
- 1880 Census, ED 35, page 1
- 1900 Census, ED 46 4th Precinct New Orleans city Ward 5, page 2
Postscript
Asbury gave us two more stories of women who lived at this address, Fanny Peel and Nellie Gaspar.
“In earlier days, however, the house had been occupied by white prostitutes, and gained considerable renown by reason of the reason of the tragic end of one of its inmates, Nellie Gaspar; and the mere presence of another, a woman known as ‘the notorious Fanny Peel.’ The latter said to have been the most beautiful courtesan who ever appeared in New Orleans, was, according to the newspapers, the daughter of a clergyman of Troy, New York, and a graduate of the Troy Female Seminary. She was seduced at fifteen, in 1843, and immediately became a prostitute, an almost compulsory fate in those days, when a girl once ruined was ruined forever. After a career in Chicago and other cities, during which she was the mistress of several important men and accumulated a considerable fortune, she came to New Orleans in 1857 with her coachman, a free Negro, whom she immediately sold as a slave to a Louisiana planter. She entered the brothel at No. 111 Dauphine Street, but was soon dismissed because she refused to have anything to do with the men who visited the place—she said they weren’t good enough for her. She went to Mobile early in 1858 and died there during the summer of that year.
“Nellie Gaspar, the daughter of a London innkeeper, came to New Orleans in 1866 as a performer in Smith’s European Circus. She was ruined by a smooth-tongued New Orleans scoundrel, who then put her in the Dauphine Street brothel. She was expelled because she went out too often…”
I found the Nellie Gaspar and Fanny Peel stories very easily in the newspaper. Those stories are almost identical to the account in The French Quarter. I did verify that there was a “European circus” in New Orleans in 1866. There were two. However, neither was Smith’s. They were Howe’s or Murray’s. The French Quarter and references to it are the only sources I found for Smith’s European Circus. I found neither Nellie nor Fanny in any other records.
The Bangor Daily Evening Times Tue, Aug 10, 1858 ·Page 1 
The New-Orleans Times Tue, Oct 06, 1868 ·Page 2 Cabbage for Money, Black Eyed Peas for Luck
Jump to RecipeLast year, after the terrorist attack on Bourbon Street, I needed some comfort. I found it in a very unexpected place — a meal I dreaded growing up. Food of often has tradition and meaning in cultures around the world. New Orleans is no different. Foods that are seasonal, like oysters and crawfish, include a ritual around the consumption. King Cake includes curses and legends.
On New Years Day, every year, my mom insisted that we eat cabbage and black eyed peas. Cabbage for money and black eyed peas for luck or health. I did not enjoy most meals over rice as a child. I’m still not sure exactly why. Maybe frequency was a factor? Boiled cabbage, slimy and salty, is still on my Do Not Like list. She would spoon a little on our plates, just a taste, so we didn’t break the tradition, while we mostly ate other delicious things like fried back strap.
As an adult, I discovered that I actually do like cabbage and black eyed peas, even over rice, just cooked quite differently. I spent a year in China after I graduated from college, and that year was formative. The constant rice was a an odd reminder of home. Almost 20 years later, I still incorporate Chinese flavors into comfort food because that is a part of my comfort tradition.
This is my mildly Chinese cabbage stir fry recipe and a simple pressure cooker black eyed peas recipe, both adopted from the genius minds of others for my personal palate. Happy New Year! I hope your 2026 is everything you want.
Cabbage and Black Eyed Peas
The traditional January 1 meal for New Orleanians updated with flavors from around the worldIngredients
Method
Black Eyed Peas- Rinse and sort black eyed peas.
- Turn pressure cooker on saute and cook bacon.
- Remove bacon and add oil to the rendered bacon fat. Add onion, carrots, celery, and bell pepper and saute until the onion is translucent.
- Add bay leaves, thyme, paprika, pepper, and salt. Stir to combine.
- Add garlic and jalapeño. Cook until fragrant.
- Add broth, balsamic vinegar, bacon, and black eyed peas. Stir to combine.
- Cancel saute. Place lid, set steam release to sealing. Pressure cook for 17 minutes on high.
- When cycle is complete, let sit for 15 minutes on natural release. Then, turn steam release to vent.
- Discard bay leaves from black eyed peas.
Cabbage- While black eyed peas are cooking, prepare cabbage. Heat pan and cook bacon. Remove bacon to a paper towel lined plate to drain.
- Add garlic, ginger, white part of green onions, and chilis. Fry until aromatic.
- Add cabage and stir. Then add soy sauce, salt, and sugar. Mix in sesame oil, cooked bacon, and green part of green onion.
- Serve over rice.
Two Odd Fellows
The other day, I casually mentioned that the Odd Fellows Hall was still standing, and I got a weird look. I revisited the Two Well-Known Gentlemen exhibit at the New Orleans Storyville Museum, and I started doubting if I was right. Why is there an uproar over the unused Odd Fellows and Masonic Hall/Eagle Saloon if they tore it down in 1914? Probably because there have been several Odd Fellows halls in our history. I tried to sort through the records.
What are Odd Fellows?
The Independent Order of the Odd Fellows are men (fellows) who have different jobs (odd jobs) than the traditional trade-based secret benevolent/mutual aid societies. It began in England in the 18th century and spread to the United States in 1819. The first mention I found in New Orleans was in 1837, which is also the year that The Picayune was established1. The mention makes it pretty clear that the Odd Fellows were established in New Orleans before this point. In the Find A Grave entry for Henry Bier, I learned that the I. O. O. F. came to New Orleans in 18312.
They market themselves as primarily charitable, and they still exist in New Orleans. One of their purposes is to bury the dead. Odd Fellows Rest Cemetery was opened in 1849, one of the oldest in New Orleans3.
Old Odd Fellows Hall
(1831—1837) — The earliest home I could find for the Odd Fellows in New Orleans was at No. 50 Canal Street where they had a Lodge Room, mentioned in that first reference I found. No. 50 Canal Street was a boarding house called the Canal Streethouse with a barroom on the first floor, according to a 1844 ad for its sale by J. F. Barnes4.
(1837-1846) — A few months later, in August, an ad appears announcing the new lodge home of the Odd Fellows in New Orleans at the corner of Camp and Natchez5.
(1846-1851) — Between 1846 and 1851, the Odd Fellows occupied the upper story of a building at No. 13 Camp Street, which was between Common and Canal on the 1886 Sanborn insurance maps6.
The Daily Delta Tue, Apr 30, 1850, Page 1 (1852-1866) — In 1850, the Odd Fellows started a company to raise money to build their own building. The cornerstone was laid in 1850 at Lafayette and Camp streets7. It was dedicated in 18528.
This hall was damaged during the aftermath of the Civil War in 1865 and then completely burned in 1866.9
Jewell, Edwin L., Ed. Jewell’s Crescent city, illustrated. New Orleans, 1873, page 86. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, http://www.loc.gov/item/01010867 (1867-1914) — On Camp between Lafayette and Poydras, 522 Camp Street sometimes 530 Camp Street10
The Odd Fellows initially wanted to rebuild in the same spot, but that spot became the Court House11. The 1886 Sanborn map lists this space as the Criminal District Court. The building that is there now, the John Minor Wisdom U. S. Court of Appeals, was built between 1908-1915.
Eventually, they decided to build in a nearby building that was occupied by the Quartermaster’s Department after the Civil War. It was, at one point, the private residence of Benjamin Story. There were two Benjamins — Sidney’s uncle and Sidney’s brother. I think this must have been the brother’s home based on timing12.
The Odd Fellows demolished their hall in 1914 because the cost for rat-proofing would exceed the cost of demolishing it.13 Several cases of the plague originated from the Odd Fellows Hall.14 The city had provided notices all across the city that rat-proofing was necessary to combat the rat plague. They were so serious that they got doctors involved. This is also, believe it or not, when we start getting municipal garbage pickup in New Orleans, but it wasn’t fully in effect until about 1920.
So that’s the Odd Fellows Hall where the Two Well-Known Gentlemen had their infamous balls. What about the one that is still standing?
Odd Fellows and Masonic Hall/Eagle Saloon (1850)
Eagle Saloon in 2025, photo by the author At 401 S. Rampart Street sits an 1850 building once known as the Odd Fellows and Masonic Hall and also the Eagle Saloon. It is currently owned by the New Orleans Music Hall of Fame, but it’s sat empty for some time15. There is no more important building standing for the history of Jazz in the United States, according to Offbeat Magazine16.
The third floor of this building served as the home of the Black Odd Fellows and Masonic society, which formed when two groups merged, in New Orleans17.
The Times-Picayune, Wed, Nov 01, 1876, Page 6 According to most sources, 401 S. Rampart (old address 122 S. Rampart) was built in 185018. Joseph B. Hubbard, owner of Hubbard’s Furniture Palace, occupied the space until 189719. Hubbard advertised that he was the oldest furniture store in New Orleans, since 1840. The oldest ad I found for Hubbard was 1876. In the 1871 New Orleans City Directory, which is the earliest I find a listing, Hubbard’s Furniture is at 401 S. Rampart. His residence is listed as Cincinnati, Ohio.
Hubbard sold the building in 1897, and he died in Cincinnati in 189920. The Masonic and Odd Fellows Hall Association leased the third floor and Jake Itzkovich had a loan/pawn shop on the first floor. Jake moved in 1907 and the first floor became the Eagle Saloon in 1908. Hubbard’s ads referred to a Sign of the Golden Eage. Itzkovich called his place the Eagle Loan Office, and the Saloon carried on the Eagle name.
Commercial Bulletin, Price-Current and Shipping List, Wed, Oct 20, 1880, Page 5 In 1919, Maison Blanche leased the upper floors as warehouses. By 1920, Itzkovich and his loan store are back in the space. In 1925, the building underwent renovations into the look it still has21. In 1938, it’s the Dixie Beer Parlor22. In 1945, the Segrettos, Grace and Joseph, also listed 401 S. Rampart as their address. Grace ran the beer parlor and Joseph was a criminal sheriff deputy. In 1947, it was the Main Liquor Store. The New Orleans Music Hall of Fame purchased the property in 200223.
So What?
Somehow, without anyone really paying attention to it, this building has survived for at least 175 years. During that time, it served as a hub of history. Some of the most significant events in music history happened on the corner of S. Rampart and Perdido. For instance, on this corner, Louis Armstrong fired the gun on New Years’ Eve, the incident that sent him to the Colored Waif’s Home where he learned to play music, seemingly changing music history with that event.
But we can’t count on the luck that’s led the cement of this building to hold. Hurricane Ida knocked down the Karnofsky Tailor Shop, a few doors down from the Eagle Saloon, just a few years ago. The Karnofskys were among those who encouraged a young Louis. In the stories that he told later in life about delivering coal in Storyville as a child, he was accompanying Morris Karnofsky on that mission. I hope we’ve learned our lesson before the Eagle Saloon is gone too.
Demolished instead of Rat-Proofed
The New Orleans Item on September 11, 1915, page 1, details the rat-proofing efforts. They demolished many buildings in the crusade against the plague, 7,068 total including 1,477 dwellings or main buildings. They also installed 53,000 garbage cans in the campaign. They spent about $500,000 by June 30, 1915, which is more than $16,000,000 in 2025.
In addition to Odd Fellows Hall, they also demolished the St. Louis Hotel during the rat-proofing campaign.
Some New Orleanians Listed as Odd Fellows Publicly
G. W. Cable, President, 1843 (presumably the father of the famous author)
Sidney Story, Director, 1849 (uncle of the famous founder of Storyville)
Thomas F. Bragg, Grand Master 1860
Henry Bier, RWD Grand Master, 1850Sources
- “Odd Fellows Attention,” The Picayune, June 15, 1837, page 3. ↩︎
- https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/243732664/henry-bier ↩︎
- Napoleon, Chelsey Richard. “Archives Month – Cemetery District/Canal Street Cemeteries Part 2,” October 29, 2021. https://clerkofcivildistrictcourtnotarialarchives.wordpress.com/2021/10/29/archives-month-cemetery-district-canal-street-cemeteries-part-2/ ↩︎
- “For Sale,” The Daily Picayune, December 10, 1844, page 2. ↩︎
- “Odd Fellows, Attention!” The Picayune, August 13, 1837, page 2. ↩︎
- “Dedication of the Odd Fellows Hall,” The Picayune, January 29, 1846, page 2. ↩︎
- “Odd Fellows’ Procession,” The Daily Picayune, April 30, 1850, page 2. ↩︎
- “Buildings Erected,” The Daily Picayune, February 1, 1852, page 3. ↩︎
- “Disastrous Fire: Odd Fellows Hall Destroyed — Loss $225,000-Insurance $95,000,” The Daily Picayune, July 6, 1866, page 2. ↩︎
- Masonic and Odd Fellows Buildings in New Orleans, First Draft blog from the Historic New Orleans Collection, December 8, 2023. https://hnoc.org/publishing/first-draft/feeling-fraternal-freemason-and-odd-fellows-buildings-new-orleans ↩︎
- The Times Picayune, December 10, 1867, page 1. ↩︎
- https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/40584863/benjamin_saxon-story ↩︎
- “Odd Fellows get $1250 for Hall,” The New Orleans Item, September 6, 1914, page 56. ↩︎
- “Another Victim of Plague Reported: Keeper of Odd Fellows’ Hall Stricken While at His Home — Tenth Infected Rat is Caught,” The New Orleans Item, July 26, 1914, page 60. ↩︎
- McCusker, John. “Save the Eagle Saloon (From Whom?)” The Lens, May 21, 2016. https://thelensnola.org/2016/05/21/save-the-eagle-saloon-from-whom/ ↩︎
- Ramsey, Jan. “Music in New Orleans is a lot More than Entertainment,” Offbeat Magazine, July 31, 2019. https://www.offbeat.com/music-in-new-orleans-is-a-lot-more-than-entertainment/ ↩︎
- Fertel, Randy. “Eagle Saloon / Odd Fellows and Masonic Hall,” A Closer Walk by WWOZ, https://acloserwalknola.com/places/eagle-saloon ↩︎
- Odd Fellows and Masonic Dance Hall and Eagle Saloon https://www.nps.gov/places/odd-fellows-and-masonic-dance-hall-eagle-saloon.htm ↩︎
- Napoleon, Chelsey Richard. “Historic and Popular Jazz Locations,” June 13, 2022. https://clerkofcivildistrictcourtnotarialarchives.wordpress.com/2022/06/13/historic-and-popular-jazz-locations/\”>https://clerkofcivildistrictcourtnotarialarchives.wordpress.com/2022/06/13/historic-and-popular-jazz-locations/ ↩︎
- https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/211428926/joseph-b.-hubbar ↩︎
- National Register of Historic Places nomination, 2002. https://npgallery.nps.gov/GetAsset/eac34ff8-3446-4e7f-bb11-7189481254af ↩︎
- Landmark Designation Report, December 5, 2008. https://nola.gov/nola/media/HDLC/Designation%20Reports/401-3srampart-report_001.pdf ↩︎
- Russell, Gordon. “Little Gem Saloon sold in heart of CBD; most of landmark New Orleans jazz block under single owner,”https://www.nola.com/entertainment_life/ian_mcnulty/little-gem-saloon-sold-in-heart-of-cbd-most-of-landmark-new-orleans-jazz-block/article_d9dd9048-ae0d-11e9-867c-6b11139d171c.html ↩︎
Museum Review: The Germaine Wells Mardi Gras Museum at Arnaud’s
The drive to preserve history is stashed in every corner of New Orleans. Inside Arnaud’s, one of the largest restaurants in New Orleans, you can find the Germaine Wells Mardi Gras Museum where her personal Mardi Gras balls gowns and Easter hats are preserved.
Down a hidden hallway, you’ll see walls of intricate sequined gowns on mannequins that look like Elizabeth Taylor. If you’re visiting the restaurant for a meal or a drink, ask about the museum. They’ll be happy to refill your drink and find someone who is excited to show it off.
Restaurant History
Arnaud’s says they opened in 1918, but the earliest newspaper mention I found was April 1921. That doesn’t really mean much, but I also found a 1922 ad that seems to indicate they had been open a year.
The New Orleans Item, April 23, 1922, page 36 That’s still over a century of entertaining New Orleans crowds. The accumulated gowns are a time capsule of Carnivals past and the special experiences of one New Orleanian.
Count Arnaud Cazenave, the restaurant’s founder, died in 1948. He arrived in this country in the 1890s from France. Germaine was his daughter, and she ran the restaurant until 1978. Since then it’s been run by another family, the Casbarians, who seem committed to preserving the history.
The building is now 11 connected buildings that form a winding maze of stairs and mirrored halls with colorful, elaborately patterned wallpapers, the servers quickly whisking you up and down, creating a falling down the rabbit hole feeling. Somewhere along the way are nearly 20 private dining rooms and the climate controlled museum.
The museum opened in September 1983, just before the death of Germaine in December 1983. She claimed to be the queen of 22 Carnival balls, the most anyone ever claimed. The display is some of the gowns from her most famous reigns. It is a fascinating look at the history of Carnival societies from one person’s perspective.
Visiting
I’ve visited Arnaud’s for my birthday, for work lunch, for events, and for dinner before shows at the Saenger. I’ve been able to enjoy several memorable meals in the historic surroundings.
I recommend visiting Arnaud’s if you have interest in any of the classic New Orleans dishes or drinks. Bananas Foster, Cafe Brulot, French 75, baked Alaska, souffle potatoes, turtle soup, oysters every way, you can get it all and more at Arnaud’s and end with a museum visit and probably a history of Carnival from your guide. Not a bad deal.
Sources
https://www.arnaudsrestaurant.com/about/mardi-gras-museum
Morago, Greg. “Arnaud’s, New Orleans’ grand haute Creole restaurant, turns 100,” May 1, 2018. https://www.ctinsider.com/life/travel/explore/article/Arnaud-s-New-Orleans-grand-haute-Creole-12877994.php Retrieved September 14, 2025.
“Germaine Leontine Yvonne Cazenave Wells,” https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/104949615
News Orleans Newsletter
Introducing my new newsletter about what’s going on this week in New Orleans
For the past few months, I’ve been working at museums in New Orleans. This was a natural progression from my fundraising experience. I’d worked in healthcare and education. I wanted to work at a prominent museum to round out my fundraising experience.
But it turns out that I don’t want to be a full-time fundraiser anymore. I want to work with tourists, travelers, and visitors to New Orleans telling important stories. So now I have a docent-esque role at the New Orleans Storyville Museum as well as a tour guide role at the National World War II Museum, two of the best museums in the city, in my opinion.
Where is the bathroom?
I quickly learned how to clearly and succinctly explain where the bathroom is. I also quickly learned about close by attractions, restaurants, and bars to recommend, as well as which are closed on which day.
But many things change regularly, so I started trying to keep up with which cruises were in the port, which conventions were peppering the city, and which concerts might draw interesting visitors. Now, I want to share that info with you.
News Orleans
News Orleans is a new newsletter condensing the weekly goings-on into one sleek email for the savvy New Orleans traveler, tourist, visitor, or hospitality worker. Featuring live music events, concerts and theater, conventions, cruises, museum openings, restaurant news, and more — subscribe to find the things you might have missed!1
Preview of this week’s edition September 21-27
- Alabama Shakes at the Saenger September 23
- Vampire Weekend at the Saenger September 24
- Big Charity screening at the New Orleans Jazz Museum at the Old US Mint September 24
- ACL American Heritage Arriving September 27
Right now, I’m focusing on the things that impact tourism the most in the city. If you’d like to see your event featured, send me a message.
- I am aiming for weekly, but may start out monthly or biweekly in the beginning. Just think of when you can say, “I was subscribed to News Orleans when…” ↩︎
The Eagle’s Nest
A few years ago, my aunt did a DNA test. Her results connected her to all her known family, but then also to some new first cousins. She was skeptical. “We know all of our first cousins.”
But finding secret families through DNA results is a cliche at this point, and it turns out my family is not immune. In the 1950s, for the first time ever, women outnumbered men. Probably a result of so many young men dying in World War II, the prosperity of the 1950s created another phenomenon. Men sometimes decided to take advantage of the situation and have a whole second family. It’s hard to find statistics on exactly how common parallel families were, but every time I mention that my uncle had a secret second family, I’m met with understanding and usually a tale of a similar secret second family in their line.
As soon as we saw the alleged cousins, their features so familiar and so similar to ours, it was clear we had new cousins to meet.
The Ancestors
My Polish family immigrated to New York in 1892. Before New York, they spent some time in Brazil. My great great grandmother was pregnant when they made the journey from Brazil to New York. She had my Aunt Cecilia in October of 1892, but she had my Uncle John and Uncle Walter before making it to New York. I was able to piece together these details through Uncle Walter’s immigration papers. He was the only one who pursued citizenship.
My great grandfather in his military uniform from World War I. According to the New York State Archives, he served from December 1917, when he was 21 years old, to December 1918. He did not serve overseas. WWI draft was initially men ages 21-30. It was expanded to 18-45 in September 1918. My great grandfather was born in New York in 1896. He had two more siblings after him, Frank and Louise. They grew up in Brooklyn. My great grandfather was exactly the right age to serve in World War I, and he did. One of the only photos we have of him as a young man is in his uniform. I wonder what the Polish family of the first generation American thought of his service in that war even though he only served in the United States. When my family fled Europe, Poland didn’t exist. Documentation lists them as “Polish-speaking Russians” because their part of Poland had been annexed to Russia. I don’t know exactly where in Poland my family lived, but this helps narrow down the region.
My grandfather was born in 1927, and he grew up in the same house in Brooklyn as his father did on Louisiana Avenue. Our Polish name was spelled differently in every census from their arrival until 1940, so that Brooklyn address is how I found my family each year.
My grandfather was a little too young to serve in World War II, but his baby brother Johnny, the link to the new cousins, lied about his age, documented on his draft card. He made himself two years older, which was the same age as my grandfather…and still too young.
Uncle Johnny
I heard stories about Uncle Johnny my whole life. Uncle Johnny was a bit of a troubled soul, from my grandfather’s perspective. He wasn’t motivated in the same way, and I don’t know if we had the vocabulary or societal knowledge about mental health to provide the right support. I’m not sure we have that even now.
The story I remember most vividly was at a funeral. After the ritual portion of the funeral, Uncle Johnny decided to go across the street to a bar to get a drink. They watched him walk away and never saw him again. Uncle Johnny walked off the face of the Earth. It happened before I was born, so I never met Uncle Johnny or knew anything but these stories that were passed down.
But I grew up knowing my dad’s cousin Glen, Uncle Johnny’s son. Cousin Glen is a character who is very fun to be around. He’s gentle and calm now, but I understand that is different than his youth. We always looked forward to any random visit from Cousin Glen, and we’re still just as thrilled when we get to see him today. Like my dad, who moved as far from New York as he could be comfortable, Cousin Glen also moved far away. It took several more states before he got comfortable, and he’s a West Coast resident now.
As recently as 2017, when we decided to get together in Key West (before we knew about the new cousins), Glen was still asking where his father could be.
Potential Relationship: First Cousin
In 2020, my aunt bought DNA tests for Christmas. My grandmother did one and so did she. My grandfather died when I was seven years old, but my aunt’s test would reveal his family. When first cousin matches came up, she thought it was a mistake because she makes it a point to keep up with all of her cousins, even though they are scattered across the country now.
But Cousin Rose, Glen’s half-sister, was looking for us — the family she didn’t know yet.
The Reunion, Florida, 2023
The new cousins live in Florida, so as soon as it was safe enough during the Pandemic, we planned a reunion. The new cousins weren’t the only cousins who live in Florida now, so we also reunited with some of my second cousins on that trip. We drove around the Gulf anticipating our new cousins. Some nerves, but comfort in knowing we’d all be together, excitement at seeing those we hadn’t for awhile, relief at the ending quarantine. Emotions mixing like static, dulling and distracting.
When Rose and Pauline showed up, looking so much like our cousins, the static started clearing. We learned middle names we did not know. They learned about step-parents who seemed like strangers on their Ancestry family trees. We each had pieces to the puzzle needed to see more of the picture.
The campground where we met in Florida was hosting an eagle in a prominent nest with her babies. She embodies the scrappy American spirit of the immigrants seeking better opportunities on stolen land…without which my family doesn’t exist.
Eagle with its nest, Auburndale, Florida, March 2023 After we marveled at our shared physical features, they fell right in with our family like it had always been. And I guess it always had been somewhere even when we didn’t know it yet.
Let’s Do it Again, Long Island, 2025
This summer, we decided to do another reunion, this time on Long Island. My dad grew up on Long Island and two of my aunts, my grandmother, and a slew of my first cousins still live there. One of my aunts generously hosted us at her house where we had planned activities for the whole weekend, including line dancing, an ice cream truck, crafts with my mom (a famous Faceobok crafter), a movie night, and fireworks. We spent time on Long Island during summers when I was growing up, so seeing the lightning bugs and needing a jacket in the evenings (while my family complained about the heat) were very nostalgic for me.
Several of my cousins and my sister decided that we should be ancestors one day too. I’m diligently filing all the family secrets so that I can be the aunt with the stories and backstories everyone needs to know.
My cousin’s baby (my first cousin once removed) with my niece. They turned nine and 10 months old. One of my favorite activities was a trip to visit the Suffolk County Vanderbilt Mansion, Museum, and Planetarium with a private tour from my step-uncle who is on the board of the museum. This was the summer home of William K. Vanderbilt, the great-grandson of Cornelius the railroad magnate. Cornelius was known for connecting railroads for one continuous journey, a far more convenient way to travel than constantly changing trains and buying tickets in each small town. William spent his days traveling the seas trying to find new species, and many of the specimens he brought back are now on display in the museum.
The mansion, built right on the Northport Bay so that Vanderbilt could park his yacht in the front yard, was nicknamed The Eagle’s Nest. William apparently struggled with his purpose as the descendant of someone with such a prolific biography. None of the species he found were new. His was the third generation of wealth, the generation who tends to lose the wealth.
The Eagle’s Nest now has two giant eagle statues at the entryway from Grand Central Station in New York City, the city that called my ancestors home.
My step-uncle Steve leading us to The Eagle’s Nest on a private tour. Kristin (Michael’s partner), my mom, my cousin Michael, and Sue (Cousin Glen’s wife). The Luck of Family
There are a few lessons that I’ve learned from the saga of our new family. First, family is the luck of the draw, and we don’t all get a good hand. It seems like I’m among the most lucky, though. Some of us have famous ancestors who created things we still use. Some of us have infamous ancestors whose mistakes we all learn from. Some of us just have ordinary people who traveled three continents to ensure that their descendants could prosper, and it’s up to us to remember them and tell their stories.
A lesson we all have to learn over and over is that this time could be the last. One of my second cousins who we saw on that 2023 trip with the eagle’s nest has passed on. Another story to preserve and cherish. Another ancestor to honor. As we’re reminded every Mardi Gras, it is later than you think. Ash Wednesday gives us another version: remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return.
Finally, expanding family, whether by blood or choice, results in more. More people to know, more stories to share, more memories and hugs, more opportunities to love, more souls to eventually grieve.
I often wonder what the ancestors would think of us and how we tell their stories. I wish I had more to remember, and I would love for them to correct my mistakes and misunderstandings. But I have no doubt they would recognize the things they passed down — our dimpled chins, hooded eyes, and insistence on remembering.
Protected: The Ghost of Mary A. Deubler
Bulbancha and De-Colonizing Tours
Tensas Gazette
Fri, Feb 05, 1932 ·Page 1In 2018, I was astonished to learn via a podcast that New Orleans had a name before the Europeans came here. Then, I was pretty infuriated that I didn’t know that before, as a native Louisianan who attended public school through LSU. I started de-colonizing Bulbancha on a minor scale by telling everyone who would listen.
I grew up off of Choctaw Road, near the Bogue Chitto river in a town called Bogalusa. I learned that Bogue Chitto meant Big Creek and Bogalusa meant Black Creek as a child. The Washington Parish Free Fair, the largest free county/parish fair in the United States by some claims, includes an exhibit and demonstration of local indigenous people. A road that historians believe Europeans used since 1542, the Old Choctaw Trail, is in Washington Parish.
LSU is in a town called Baton Rouge because the French just translated what the people who were already there called it — Istrouma or Red Stick. There, you can find the LSU Campus Mounds, some of the oldest man made structures on North America (older than the Egyptian pyramids). Unfortunately, during my time at LSU, we regularly climbed the Mounds with no real interest in what they may mean or why they were there (you can no longer walk on the Mounds today).
I grew up eating pecans, grits, cornbread, crawfish, red beans, and tabasco peppers, all of which I learned are actually Indian foods, not Cajun foods!
With so much native language, history, and culture in my life, how did I never know about Bulbancha? Why was I never interested in what was here before the colonizers came?
Decolonizing Myself
Last weekend, I attended the Indigenous History: Decolonizing Bulbancha Tours seminar organized by Frank Perez and the Tour Guide Association of Greater New Orleans to try to rectify that and fill in some of the gaps.
In addition to Frank’s overview of indigenous history in Louisiana and the Natchez Attack on Fort Rosalie, Dr. Jeffery Darensbourg spoke on “Indigenous Enslavement and Linguistics”, Dr. John DePriest spoke on “Jean Baptiste Baudrau II: An 18th Century Case Study of Colonial/Indigenous Relations”, and Joseph Darensbourg spoke on “Inter-Tribal Creole Identity”.
Dr. Darensbourg is the scholar who taught all the white people that Bulbancha is still a place. He explained that his own birth certificate from 1972 lists his parents as negra/negro. The practice of using these and other terms instead of the Indian terms was an intentional erasure. He is Ishak, the people who were in south Louisiana before Europeans. They are sometimes called the Creole Indians. Sometimes they are called Atakapa or “Maneaters,” a misnomer that he explained was because of their tradition of taking people into their tribe, not cannibalism. He is working to spread Ishakkoy, the language they speak.
Dr. DePriest is a member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma and a professor at Tulane. He provided rich history about one of the original Creoles, Jean Baptiste Baudrau II.
Baudrau’s mother was indigenous and his father was French. He only lived about 40 years, but his adventures were enough for many lifetimes. Jean Baptiste Baudrau knew Bienville, the four time governor of Louisiana and “founder” of the city of New Orleans, which probably helped him out of trouble as much as it could.
Baudrau was arrested for smuggling, kidnapping, salvaging a wreck, and even for a rebellion he wasn’t part of. Eventually, the French made an example of him because they could not control him, and he became one of only two men in what is now the United States whose body was broken on a wheel. He was thrown into the Mississippi River. His descendants installed a plaque at that spot commemorating his life.
Baudrau fell between worlds as a Creole, not French but not Indigenous either. His existence along with the other original Creoles provided a reason for the colonizers to begin creating their elaborate classification and caste system for people. Dr. DePriest ended his talk by proclaiming that the colonial government did everything to silence Baudrau, but his descendants, of which there are many, prove they were not successful.
Monument Builders
Joseph Darensbourg and John DePriest, PhD perform
at the Indigenous Hisory: De-Colonizing Bulbancha Tours
seminar on July 26, 2025.Joseph Darensbourg closed out the day by sharing a song and introducing the next chief of the Ishak people, reiterating that the people who were here before colonization are not extinct.
View from inside one of the Mounds at Poverty Point. Photo by the author, 2017. Rights reserved. Joseph reminded us that, in this age of…dubious monuments, our indigenous ancestors were also monument builders. Beyond the ancient Mounds at LSU, Poverty Point and several other sites still exist around the state.
There used to be several mounds in Bulbancha, too, such as where St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 is. Now, thanks to the efforts of the Nanih Bvlbancha team, there is a prominent one in Bulbancha again. Here they can hold celebrations without having to leave the city, like they used to before the colonizers.
I ended my weekend by visiting it. Monuments are important, and the people of Bulbancha knew that. We still know that, even if we pretend to be blind to the propaganda. What we choose to build in materials that will last far longer than us tell the future humans what we valued. I’m glad that part of our stories is removing old monuments that no longer align with our values while adding new monuments that move us a little closer to de-colonizing Bulbancha.
Nanih Bvulbancha. Photo by the author, 2025. Rights reserved. Once Upon a Time in Storyville: The District’s Children
The Girl with the Striped Stockings or Raleigh Rye Girl is the most famous of E. J. Bellocq’s portraits from Storyville. The photo appears on the cover of books, in poetry, and in endless examples of life in The District. A surface analysis shows us a pleased woman in finery enjoying a drink. But E. J. includes many details for deeper analysis to give us a glimpse into The District’s truth, including that of the children.
E.J. Bellocq, and American. Storyville Portrait. gelatin silver print, c. 1970, c. 1912. The National Gallery of Art (Washington, D.C.); Patrons’ Permanent Fund, JSTOR, https://jstor.org/stable/community.14906722. Accessed 21 June 2025. Sometimes viewers miss the prominent bottle of whiskey with label facing forward and statue mimicking the swirling fabric draped on the woman because of her striking stockings and mischievous grin. Raleigh Rye was the favored whiskey of the time, according to some sources. Some have speculated that this was a commercial photo for Raleigh Rye.1 But descriptions almost always omit the army of feathered rocking chairs on the bottom of the table.
At first I thought these may be some sort of time keeping device, which is why they would need many of them. The only mention I’ve found of them is from a book of poetry about the portraits entitled Bellocq’s Ophelia by Natasha Trethewey. The poem is Photograph of a Bawd Drinking Raleigh Rye. The mention is fleeting with no explanation provided:
beside her: a clock, tiny feather-backed rocking chairs
poised to move with the slightest wind or breath;This description is accurate and totally ruins any idea that these were meant to keep time. I truly can’t even describe how I thought they worked if you asked me now.
The Reality of Storyville
Upon closer look, it’s not many little rocking chairs, but a set of tiny furniture with a rocking chair most eye-catching, all decorated with feathers.
Creator: E.J. Bellocq (creator); American (creator); Date: c. 1912; Material: gelatin silver print, c. 1970; Measurements: sheet: 25.2 x 20.2 cm (9 15/16 x 7 15/16 in.) I asked Olive Camp, the operations manager at the New Orleans Storyville Museum, what she thought. Her instant reply: “I think that we often forget how young the girls in Storyville were.”
Indeed, a search for feather doll furniture from 1912 returned many more promising results, including several examples of doll furniture made out of feather quills, with feather details included.
Antique Prisoner of War Feather Miniature Chairs — Miniature Dolls House Furniture, https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/antique-prisoner-war-feather-537496511 Another photo from Bellocq’s Storyville series doesn’t feature a woman, but a series of photographs of women. Perhaps this is a display of Bellocq’s own work in one of the brothels. The photos have the women in varying levels of dress, just like Bellocq’s known portraits. Some sprawl, some pose, some are fully clothed. In one of the photos, the woman or girl holds a baby doll. The gallery items include sculptures and clocks on the cabinet with a toy mug of beer, toy horses, and a toy car on display, more evidence of the youth represented in The District.
E. J. Bellocq, American, New Orleans, Louisiana, 1873-1949, New Orleans, Louisiana. Untitled. gelatin silver print, ca. 1912. San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; Accessions Committee Fund purchase, JSTOR, https://jstor.org/stable/community.14727779. Accessed 21 June 2025. Pretty Babies
In 1978, the movie Pretty Baby famously and controversially depicted the life of a child in Storyville2. The movie was loosely based on interviews conducted by Al Rose for his book Storyville, New Orleans, published in 1974. He interviews a “trick baby” who he named Violet.3
“I was born upstairs, like in the attic of Hilma Burt’s house on Basin Street. A lot of kids was born in that attic and in the Arlington attic and other places like that. There was a midwife used to come…for all the girls who got caught. Why do people think whores can’t have kids?” Rose quotes Violet.
She explains that life in the brothel was just what she knew her whole life.
“Nobody never stopped me from seeing my mother and the rest of the girls turn tricks. I don’t remember anytime when I didn’t know what they did, or what a man’s prick looked like. Sometimes I’d watch through them portiers like they had then, and other times I’d walk right in the room and nobody said nothing,” Rose quotes Violet.
The movie Pretty Baby opens with a scene of a child intently staring directly at the camera and the sound of a woman moaning in the background. The woman in the background is her mother having another baby. The film’s director, Louis Malle, depicts the realities of the natural result of sex work, pregnancy and children, from a child’s perspective. In the movie, Violet is always presented as a child, even when they are auctioning her off.
“I don’t know if it was a good life or a bad life. I know I got a good life now, and I know how to appreciate it. But I don’t know how I’d feel about it if I went through the whole life, you know, with pimps and dope and turning tricks till I was fifty. All my three girls is older now than I was when I quit the business, and I don’t see how they’re much better off than I was at their age. I know it’d be good if I could say how awful it was and like crime don’t pay—but to me it seems just like anything else—like a kid who’s father owns a grocery store. He helps him in the store. Well, my mother didn’t sell groceries,” Violet is quoted.
In the movie, the auction scene reminds me so directly of debutante culture.4 From the white dress to the age of the girl to the tuxedoed men clamoring for a taste, there are not many differences between how prized sex workers are treated in Pretty Baby and how young girls of society’s highest rungs are treated. They are largely the same men perpetuating that behavior.
The Children after Storyville
I think it’s interesting to note that the production of this movie required abusing a child, Brooke Shields. In 2023, Shields released a documentary on ABC called Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields. She discussed the experience in the documentary.
“Louis [Malle] talked about the subject matter…I was 11 years old…and I may have not known all of the nuance, but it was a real artistic endeavor,” Brooke Shields said in her documentary.5
She also explains that Malle wanted her to be childlike in that he didn’t explain how he wanted her to behave. He wanted her to seem like a child repeating what she’d heard adults say, not a child seductress. Although, she does pointedly recount how Malle got mad at her when she scrunched her face, like a child, at kissing an adult man for her first kiss. Shields explains that she got through it because the adult man, Keith Carradine, gently told her that this kiss was pretend and didn’t count as her first kiss.
I only recently decided to watch Pretty Baby as I’ve avoided it due to the controversy. I found it hard to watch for several reasons — the overt racism and the obvious youth of an 11 year old star to start. However, I did not find that Malle intended the movie to be sexy at all. I always found the perspective as that of a child. Even when she marries an adult man, he buys her a baby doll and tells her she’s a child. I think Malle wanted to tell a story about life in Storyville for a forgotten group of people who had their childhoods erased. However, there’s no doubt that to do it he abused another child and was partially responsible for the erasure of her childhood, too.
Storyville Excavation
In 1999, a tour guide was the catalyst for an archaeological dig of a portion of Bienville Street. The site was right in the thick of The District, more than 80 years after it closed and about 50 since it was demolished. Robert Florence was convinced that work to install new sewer lines resulted in unearthing forgotten graves from the original footprint of St. Louis Cemetery No. 1, and he was determined to preserve the history. While no bones were discovered once the archaeologists were called in, they did find more evidence of children in Storyville.
”Perhaps the most surprising finds are pieces of children’s dolls and toy tea cups. Two small metal wheels may have been a toy carriage. Romanticized accounts of the district largely omit children, but they must have been an important presence in the daily life of Storyville…It’s impossible to look at the toys without wondering about the difficulties of rearing a child in a red-light district.” p. 296
Earlier the article points out that Louis Armstrong (1901-1971) was also in The District as a child delivering coal and soaking up jazz. Maybe it wasn’t the children posing as women who were playing with the toys. They wanted to be perceived as adults. The furniture set is on the bottom shelf and is ignored by the photo’s subject, within reach but out of the way. Perhaps it was the children born of the situation for whom toys were needed.
Storyville Census Data
What can we learn about how children lived in Storyville from the census data? The 1910 census was taken right in the height of Storyville. The map below is the approximate locations of homes where the census taker stopped (in progress). Starred residences were noted as homes of Black people. The diamonds are Asian residents and the teardrops are white. Hearts show where people of multiple races were listed. The markers in purple show where children under 18 are listed in the census. Since all of these homes have been demolished, these addresses are very approximate.
Not only can you see how scattered children were throughout The District, but you can see how every race was represented on nearly every block also. The District was all about segregating prostitution away from “polite” society, but it refused racial segregation within its bounds in many ways. Historians and tour guides often remember the Treme, the neighborhood where Storyville was located, as the first Black neighborhood in the United States. But this isn’t really true. The Treme was always an area with people of diverse backgrounds, a mixed neighborhood, including through the Storyville era.
I have three more installments of my Storyville video series to complete. The final episode is about Willie Piazza who famously won an early segregation battle, after Storyville was officially disbanded.
Conclusion
Raleigh Rye Girl provides some valuable and interesting insights into life in Storyville. The architecture and decor are distinct to the time. The threadbare rug and makeshift dress indicate frequent use. The clock is featured in several of Bellocq’s portraits. He also favored the necklace she wears. The booze that drenched The District, making the real money for the proprietors, is a focal point. These details along with the paraphernalia of youth are all accurate background dressings for the time. The ghostly toys point to the subtle prominence of children and maybe even the immaturity of the “women” working.
Sources
- Waguespack, Christian. “Posh and Tawdry: Inventing and Rethinking E.J. Bellocq’s Storyville Portraits,” September 29, 2017. https://medium.com/exposure-magazine/posh-and-tawdry-inventing-and-rethinking-e-j-bellocqs-storyville-portraits-b47b24042d03 ↩︎
- Pretty Baby. Directed by Louis Malle, performances by Brooke Shields and Susan Sarandon, Paramount, 1978. ↩︎
- Rose, Al. Storyville, New Orleans: Being an Authentic, Illustrated Account of the Notorious Red-Light District, University of Alabama Press, Tuscaloosa, AL © 1974. ↩︎
- “Hilda Burt’s House and Pretty Baby’s Historical Context,” November 25, 2024, https://nolaguide.wordpress.com/2024/11/25/hilma-burts-house-and-pretty-babys-historical-context/ ↩︎
- “Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields” ABC News Docuseries, March 2023. ↩︎
- Powell, Eric A. “TALES FROM Storyville.” Archaeology, vol. 55, no. 6, 2002, pp. 26–31. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/41779085. Accessed 21 June 2025. ↩︎
