Jacksonville History
Five Forgotten Facts About LaVilla's Red Light District
Ward Street was home to more than 60 bordellos in the early 20th century, operated by well-known madams including Cora Crane, Belle Orloff, and Lyda De Camp.
LaVilla's Ward Street was the center of Jacksonville's red light district in the early 20th century, housing more than 60 bordellos in a dense urban landscape that has largely faded from public memory.
The district was home to several prominent madams, including Cora Crane, Belle Orloff, and Lyda De Camp. Establishments in the area were formally known as "disorderly houses" rather than brothels.
The Court, the district's largest disorderly house, was owned by Cora Taylor Crane and located at the southwest corner of Ward and Davis Streets. Crane purchased the property in 1902 from the parents of James Weldon Johnson and John Rosamond Johnson, the well-known composer brothers.