Date of Award

5-2026

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

M.S.

Degree Program

Urban Studies

Department

Planning and Urban Studies

Major Professor

Ryan Gray

Second Advisor

Ryan Seidemann

Third Advisor

John Fitzmorris

Abstract

This research examines the historic spatiality of commercial sex‑work in New Orleans by analyzing targeted addresses associated with the trade across three census years. Using the establishment and closure of Storyville (1897–1917) as a temporal frame, it compares demographic patterns in dwellings labeled as “houses of ill fame” in 1880, 1900, and 1920 to trace changes in household composition and social identity. Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps, newspapers, and city directories contextualize these patterns within three ten‑year intervals (1875–1885, 1895–1905, 1915–1925), revealing how sex‑work spaces were regulated, represented, and embedded in the urban landscape. The study also incorporates an archaeological assemblage from a lot linked to an 1880 “house of ill fame,” offering material insight into the lived experiences of its residents. By integrating historical, spatial, and archaeological evidence, the project reconstructs the geographic and social evolution of sex‑work and illuminates the material lives of marginalized communities.

Rights

The University of New Orleans and its agents retain the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible this dissertation or thesis in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. The author retains all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis or dissertation.

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