"Now ain't you glad you went with me On down that Mississippi? We took a boat to the land of dreams Heaven on earth, they call it Basin Street."

Forth time is a charm.

Storyville, which is bounded by Rue Iberville, Iberville, Basin, St. Louis, and N. Robertson streets, was located next to two major transportation focal points in the city: The turning basin at the end of the Carondelet Canal, and the tracks leading to the Southern Railway’s Canal Street terminal. With transportation, trade, and commerce nearby, it was only natural that entrepreneurs would offer adult entertainment in the form of prostitution nearby. Brothels, ranging from inexpensive rooms (“cribs”) to elegant homes, began to appear. By 1897, a New Orleans alterman named Sidney Story proposed to define a specific red-light district for New Orleans, similar to those in port cities such as Amsterdam in the Netherlands. Prostitution was to be legalized, and the brothels in this district were to be monitored, and prostitution was discouraged in neighborhoods outside the defined district. Story received the dubious honor of having the red-light district he advocated named for him.

Storyville attracted prostitutes whose fees ranged from fifty cents to ten dollars or more. An enterprising woman who saved her money could start in the “cribs” on the low end of the scale, eventually moving into one of the nicer establishments located along Basin Street. (A wonderful depiction of life in Storyville for musicians and prostitutes alike is offered by New Orleans author Louis Maistros in his historical-fiction novel,The Sound of Building Coffins.) Storyville wasn’t a sanitized amusement park; there was a seedy underside of gambling, crime, even murder in the district.

The proximity of those elegant mansions to the train station made them the most popular and profitable. While the cribs were single-bedroom and no-frills, the luxury houses were well-appointed, the sort of place a man with financial means would feel comfortable. As the brothels established themselves in the late 1890s, restaurants and saloons popped up nearby. The district was a full-fledged entertainment zone by 1900.

The wonderful form of music we know as Jazz did not originate in Storyville, as many believe, but the district nurtured the music and its players. The upscale brothels would hire piano players to offer light music in their parlors before the couples went upstairs. Some of these houses would even hire fledgling jazz combos to entertain the clients. The saloons in Storyville were also looking to attract customers, and the owners of those joints knew live music was a winner even then. Buddy Bolden, Jelly Roll Morton, Pops Foster, and a host of other early jazz musicians performed in the brothels and saloons of Storyville. A young Louis Armstrong earned money by hauling coal to the brothels and saloons. This gave him the opportunity to listen to the musicians playing in the saloons. Armstrong later said Joe “King” Oliver was his first horn teacher, a relationship likely formed while Oliver was performing in Storyville.

Brothels located on Basin Street, circa 1905. The house with the cupola was operated by the legendary madam Josie Arlington. (Wikimedia Commons)

As Jazz became more popular and nightclubs opened in other parts of town, Storyville slipped into decline after 1910. By the time the United States entered World War One in 1917, opponents of legalized prostitution began to push for the district’s closure. New Orleans was a major port of embarkation for troops going to Europe to fight in the war, and the US Navy had a large presence in the port. The Secretary of War in 1917, Newton D. Baker, did not want the US military exposed to entertainment he considered immoral, so he pressed the city government to close the district. His influence carried the day, overruling objections from the mayor and other city leaders, who wanted to keep prostitution in this one single area. The city ordered the brothels to be closed, but Storyville remained as an entertainment district through the 1920s.

The neighborhood was demolished in the 1930s to make way for public housing. The Iberville Housing Project was built to provide affordable housing during the depression. Those apartment buildings are being either demolished or renovated in an attempt to update affordable housing options near downtown.

Storyville Sept. 2014

Now the band's there to greet us
Old friends will meet us
Where all them folks goin' to the St. Louis cemetery meet

Heaven on earth, they call it Basin Street...

I'm tellin' ya Basin Street is the street
Where all them characters from the first street they meet
New Orleans, land of dreams
You'll never miss them rice and beans
Way down south in New Orleans

They'll be huggin' and a kissin'

That's what I been missin'

And all that music, Lord, if you just listen'

New Orleans, I got them Basin Street blues

Now ain't you glad you went with me

On down that Mississippi?

We took a boat to the land of dreams

Heaven on earth, they call it Basin Street.

Thursday Night at Chickie Wah Wah

Thursday Night at Chickie Wah Wah

Biography

The acoustic guitar has been transformed into an important voice of southwest Louisiana's Cajun music by David Doucet. The younger brother of Cajun fiddler Michael Doucet, Doucet has used his distinctive hybrid of folk-style fingerpicking and bluegrass-like flatpicking to strengthen the performances of Beausoleil, the band he's shared with his brother for over 21 years. With the release of his debut solo album, Quand J'ai Parti in 1991, Doucet successfully stepped into the spotlight.Doucet first played the guitar after recuperating from a broken arm sustained while practicing with his high school football team. Although he initially taught himself to play by using Bob Dylan and Paul Simon songbooks, Doucet became fascinated with flatpicking after listening to an album by Doc Watson.Together with his brother and banjo player Raoul Breaux, Doucet played Cajun music in Louisiana clubs in 1975. When the project proved commercially unsuccessful, the band broke up with Doucet enrolling in college and his brother going on to form the Cajun rock band Coteau and the original lineup of Beausoleil. A turning point in Doucet's evolution as a guitarist came when he heard the playing of the late Clarence White on an album, The Kentucky Colonels 1965-1967, in 1980. Inspired by White's use of unusual chords and imaginative melodies, Doucet began to develop his own unique style.Although Doucet did not play on Beausoleil's first recording session in Paris, he joined the group before the recording of their debut album, The Spirit of Cajun Music, in 1976.Doucet moved to New Orleans, where he continues to reside, in 1980 to work at the World's Fair. In addition to his solo album and recordings with Beausoleil, Doucet was featured on albums by Chuck Guillory (Grand Texas), Octa Clark & Hector Duhon (Ensemble Encore) and Michael Doucet (Dit BeauSoleil).Doucet was accompanied on Quand J'ai Parti by members of Beausoleil (Michael Doucet, Jimmy Breaux, Tommy Comeaux, Billy Ware and Tommy Alesi) and influential dobro player Josh Graves, whom he met during a "Legends of Folk Violin" tour.

The 6th Annual New Orleans Burlesque Festival was a "Smash Hit".

Elle Eldorado 2014 New Orleans Queen of Burlesque & Rick Delaup for producing another fantastic festival.

Mondo Burlesque

The Bad Girls of Burlesque

Elle Eldorado 2014 New Orleans Queen of Burlesque

3rd Annual New Orleans Queen of Burlesque Ginger Valentine and other Burlesque ladies.

The Queens Ball

Elle Eldorado 2014 New Orleans Queen of Burlesque

Bevolo Gas and Electric Lights

Drew Bevolo, third generation owner of Bevolo Gas and Electric Lights, is unlike most business owners.

Sure, he can give you details about last month’s sales, conceptual designs currently in development, and the number of countries the company has shipped to. He can also hand-craft a historically accurate and beautifully artistic piece of lighting out of a single sheet of copper, thanks to the lessons he learned with advice from his uncle while learning the business from the ground up.

Bevolo Gas and Electric Lights began in the French Quarter in 1945 when Andrew Bevolo, Sr. revolutionized the production of gas lamps. Bevolo Sr. honed his metalworking skills while working for historic manufacturing companies including Ford, Sikorsky, and Higgins. His master craftsmanship and artistic style was the perfect complement when paired with the talents of renowned architect A. Hays Town. Together, utilizing a hand riveting technique rather than brittle soldered joints, they created what would eventually become known as the original French Quarter Lamp. Try taking a step through the French Quarter without catching a glimpse of this iconic copper lamp and you will find it simply cannot be done.

Fast forward over six decades later and you will see this innovative company is still going strong, and still producing each and every piece locally by hand. Perhaps this might have something to do with third generation owner Drew Bevolo’s passion for the art form and his unique business education at the hands of his uncle. “After a successful stock broker career in Baton Rouge, I came down to New Orleans to help my uncle Jimmy, the company’s second generation owner, with the family business,” says Bevolo. “The company was in a natural state of transition, as most of the old world artisans were becoming harder and harder to find in an increasingly high-tech world.”

In order to reinvigorate the business, Bevolo soon found hard work and a unique hands-on education was in order. “My uncle brought me on at $100 a week,” Bevolo recalls.

“He insisted I start at the bottom. I did everything from welding to delivery. He was hard on me, and it was the greatest gift he could have given me.”

It did not take long for the hard work to pay off, as the company was rejuvenated and Drew Bevolo slowly took over the reins. “We now have over 60 employees, and, because my uncle gave me the gift of coppersmithing, I know I can talk to my employees about anything; any step of the process.”

What started out as a job in the family business soon grew into a passion Drew Bevolo fully embraces today.

“Now I can’t help but look at every light I see. I continue to study,” he says. “As the company grew, and as I grew with it, I knew our success would depend on continuing the high quality people expected from Bevolo Gas and Electric Lights. People recognize it. They know we have the best product.”

People trust Bevolo's quality, and the proof shines bright throughout the French Quarter and beyond. Bevolo lanterns grace not only New Orleans’ historic landmarks such as the Cabildo, Jackson Square, and Brennan’s Restaurant, they have also been sold to customers in all 50 states and 32 countries. The Bevolo family business has continued to branch out and evolve.

Where would one be without the other? A true original creation of the French Quarter, Bevolo Gas and Electric Lights has embraced the romantic and artistic flair making this destination like no other. “The French Quarter lantern is a trademark of New Orleans,” says Bevolo. “This company was born and bred here, using local artists and craftspeople.”

Fueled by a truly unique city, the flickering of the French Quarter lantern casts a romantic glow on a true and lasting art form, thanks to the Bevolo family

Tour of the Old New Orleans Rum Distillery

Special thanks to our tour guide Jeff.

Sweet Tea with Cajun Spiced Rum

Old New Orleans Rum was born in the back streets of New Orleans 9th Ward. This stepchild of the spirits world was conceived by a band of artists and musicians (with an engineer or two thrown in for balance), better known for consumption than fabrication. With hard work, and their love of the good life, they managed to start production of what are now considered some of the world’s best rums. They continue to search for excellence, with the eyes of artists and musicians, always committed to a creative process and great quality.

The owner and founder of Old New Orleans Rum is James Michalopoulos. He is a celebrated painter, several times earning the title of “New Orleans’ Best Visual Artist.” James was commissioned six times by the Jazz and Heritage Festival to paint the image for the poster. He is widely known for his original take on New Orleans architecture. The buildings seem to dance or to move. Once you recognize James’ style you will see it everywhere around New Orleans. He maintains working studios in New Orleans, just down Elysian Fields, and in Burgundy, France. He paints and sculpts in both places. He does large abstract metal sculptures. Those are his paintings in the tasting room; he also has the Michalopoulos Gallery in the French Quarter where they can see more of his work and get prints of his painting if you don’t have the $11,000 for an original.

In 1989 James was invited to show his paintings at Castle Alman, in Morge, Switzerland. At a post-party dinner ,he was inspired by a Swiss friend who entertained guests with spirits she made with fruit picked from her garden. Impressed with the quality of the drink James wondered if he could make a equally delicious drink but with home grown produce from Louisiana. After reflection he decided to use a regional crop to create his own spirits in Louisiana … sugar cane. In 1991 he invested in rum fabrication experiment, and with several musician friends he cobbled together a still in a 9th Ward kitchen. after a couple of years they felt ready for the big time. The year 1995 was a banner year for Celebration Distillation and Old New Orleans Rum. This building we’re in right now was purchased and established as our new home.

After two years of distillation and engineering studies and plenty of trial and error, it was time to scale up. They constructed their own unique combination pot, made from used dairy equipment, and column still, which enabled the crew to create robust flavors and also achieve purity and control over the process. Designing and building the equipment as they went. And yes the experiments continued. After what seemed like 1,000 false starts, a fermentation process was found that produced the flavors they craved. In 1999, the first white rum, Crystal, was put on the market. We originally were called Cane, and later New Orleans Rum, but eventually decided to go with Old New Orleans Rum. You can still see the old Cane logo on the back brick wall above the pallets. This outstanding Crystal Rum was followed by Old New Orleans Amber Rum, and a couple years and experiments later came Old New Orleans Cajun.