Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1914-06-13
women FOLDING Tents.
Inmates of North Lee Street Resorts
Shaking City's Dust From
Their Feet. -

Tomorrow night at midnight will
witness the final evacuation of the
"red-ligHt" district of Alexandria,
which for more than fifty years has
existed on Lee street in the northeas-..
tern portion of the city. Chief OF
Police Goods today notified all of the,
women living in the district that the
houses must be closed tomorrow night
in accordance with The order which
was given by Mayor Thomas A.
Fisher, more than month ago.
The action was taken by Mayor
Fisher at the suggestion Of Judge
Louis C. Barley of the Corporation
Court who came to conclusion that
the houses must be closed following
the passage Of the Kenyon bill in
Washington. Conditions had become
so bad in Alexandra, due to the in
flux of male visitors from Washing
! ton to Alexandria's district, as to
cause serious inconvenience to the
passengers on the electric cars be-
tween the two cities.
Chief Goods stated today that ne
did not think that there would be any
jtrouble in closing the houses. A
number of the women have already
left the city and others were busy
packing their belongings today. Po-
! lice will be stationed in the district
I tomorrow night to see that the or
ders are carried out.
Mrs. E. L. Robertson, secretary OF
the National Florence Crittenton
Mission, who made a census of the
i inhabitants of the district at the re-
quest of Judge Barley, has offered to
provide homes for any of the women
who wish to accept her offer, but it
it is said that there will be very few
who will do so.
Some houses in the segregated dis
trict in which nocturnal revels have
! been carried on almost as Tar back as
the recollection of the oldest inhabi-
tants have become as Tara's Hall, and
others will within few hours be
tenantless.
During the past half century such
resorts have been segregated, the
: northeastern section of the city be-
inc Alexandria's White Chapel. Al
most as soon as any questionable
house was established elsewhere the
authorities nave bounced upon pro-
! prietress and inmates and they were
kept moving until eventually they
have taken up their abode in the toll
Grated district.
Long before the civil war this same
neighborhood bore the stigma of the
scarlet woman, and many of her vo-
taries infested what was known as
"Clay HILL" the extreme northeastern
section of the city, and "Blackdog Al
/ lev" in the square bounded by Lee,
Union, Duke and Prince streets.
The latter was cleansed many
wears ago, but when the civil war be-
gan an army of lewd men and women
followed the soldiers to this city. They
roasted in every section, some OF
which now form the residential neigh
borhoods, where the most dlsgraceful
orgies were conducted. There were
five brothels on Prince street, be-
tween Royal and Fairfax, and equally
as many more on Prince street. be-
tween Lee and Union, and on Wolfe
street. between Fairfax and Royal.
At that time more such resorts
were in the western section than IN
any other portion of the city, especial
w on West street. Numbers were on
King street also, while concert halls,
free-and-easies. and similar places
were situated in different places.
At the close of the war the work
of eviction began, and in few years
the undesirables gradually took up
their abode in the most undesirable
quarter of the city, where they have
remained until their nests have been
disturbed by the orders of the
court.