On Thursday, November 13, the New Orleans Jazz Museum will unveil its newest exhibition, The District: Music and Musicians in Storyville.

This immersive exhibition explores the vibrant musical culture that thrived in both Storyville and the neighboring area known as Black Storyville. Through a rich collection of photographs, artifacts, interviews, and video, The District examines the music and musicians who animated these legendary neighborhoods.

While the notion that jazz was born in Storyville is more myth than fact, there is no doubt that the district played a vital role in shaping the early sound of the genre. Music filled the cabarets, saloons, and brothels of Storyville and Black Storyville.

Visitors will encounter rare images of the music clubs and parlors where early jazz pioneers such as Jelly Roll Morton, King Oliver, Tony Jackson, Kid Ory, and Fess Manetta performed. Among the highlights of the exhibition are two iconic artifacts from Lulu White’s Mahogany Hall—the long-awaited carriage stone and stained glass window—on view for the first time in many years.

A new video installation will bring the district to life through dynamic recreations of the dances that once accompanied this bold and transformative music. The Storyville Museum has also generously loaned several historic pieces, including the mantelpiece from Hilma Burt’s famed establishment, further illuminating the atmosphere of an era that shaped the course of American music.