CityBiz: Newly opened Storyville Museum tells early, ‘sinful’ history of New Orleans
- Laura Kuhn
- Sep 19, 2024
- 2 min read
Updated: Dec 4, 2024
Newly opened Storyville Museum tells early, ‘sinful’ history of New Orleans
September 19, 2024
Move over Las Vegas; there’s another ‘Sin City’ with a history of gambling, prostitution, music and entertainment. And the stories behind those raucous times at the turn of the 20th century is on full display at the New Orleans Storyville Museum, which has opened in the French Quarter.
New Orleans native, Brother Martin and UNO graduate Claus Sadlier has opened a 7,000-square-foot interactive museum at 1010 Conti St. to tell the history of the red-light district known as Storyville – a neighborhood that operated in New Orleans from 1897 until 1917. The district was conceived by councilman Sidney Story to clean up prostitution from most neighborhoods in the city and confine it to a district that could be more easily contained and controlled.
“At the New Orleans Storyville Museum, we are committed to entertaining educating and informing,” said Sadlier. “Our exhibits not only shine light on the social and economic impacts of the Storyville District but also celebrate the cultural heritage that makes New Orleans unique.”
Sadlier left New Orleans in the 1990s to pursue various business ventures in San Francisco. Among his accomplishments, he invented and commercialized the world’s first insulated paper coffee cup and built it into a successful business, which he ultimately sold to Dixie Cup for $170 million. In 2013, Sadlier returned to New Orleans to live in the French Quarter. He said once he returned, he started to read about the city’s history and became intrigued about Storyville.
The museum tells the whole story beginning with the city’s founding in 1718, continuing through its the golden age of vice in the 1800s and culminating with the establishment of the Storyville district in the early 1900s.
“When I moved back, I started to read books about the sinful history of New Orleans and thought it was fascinating,” he said. “I thought ‘Wow, what an amazing idea for a museum to be dedicated to telling this incredible story as it unfolded.’”
The New Orleans Storyville Museum is open to the public Thursday through Sunday, from 10:00 a.m. to 6 p.m., with an admission price of $31.50. Patrons must be 18 or older to enter.
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