The New Orleans Storyville Museum was created to provide visitors with an educational and entertaining account of the city’s unique and rich history — from its founding as a French colonial settlement in 1718, through its golden age of economic growth, culture and vice in the 1800s, to the early 1900s, when Storyville reigned as the largest and most ostentatious quasi-legal red-light district the United States has ever known—offering patrons from around the world live music, entertainment, gambling, and wide-open prostitution.
The museum is the passion project of its founder and CEO, Claus Sadlier, a sixth-generation New Orleanian and longtime French Quarter resident. After a successful career in business, Sadlier dedicated years to researching the city’s history and shaping the museum’s narrative, while also studying innovative museum design by visiting leading institutions around the world. With a clear vision in place, he secured funding, curated a collection of meaningful artifacts, selected an ideal French Quarter location just two blocks from the historic Storyville district, and assembled a team of local professionals to bring the museum to life.
