Nanaimo’s Red Light district has been closed for 90 years but forgotten stories of prostitution and gambling have been discovered. Red Lights & Roulette is the feature exhibit at the Nanaimo Museum from February 2-May 1. The exhibit highlights stories that sound more like a movie plot than local history and features a corset collection on loan from a private collection in Vancouver. The exhibit is divided into two sections: prostitution and gambling. “The gambling section starts with illegal gambling in the 1870s and ends with the present success of gaming at Casino Nanaimo,” says Greenaway. “We appreciate Casino Nanaimo’s sponsorship of Red Lights & Roulette.” Information from maps, police reports, historical photos, census records and jail records were combined to re-create the history of the Red Light district and gambling.
Red Lights & Roulette is a departure from the Nanaimo Museum’s typical family friendly exhibits. “This exhibit covers controversial and sometimes racy subjects,” says Aimee Greenaway, Interpretation Curator. “The people who worked in the Red Light district led fascinating and often tragic lives.” Nanaimo’s Red Light district was located on Fraser Street (now Terminal Avenue) from approximately the 1890s-1920s. “The exhibit has been a great opportunity for us to share stories of people who are usually overlooked in traditional history books.”
The museum is looking for photos of Fraser Street at the turn of the 20th century. “There are few photos of Fraser Street in our collection,” says Greenaway. “We are hoping that photos of what is known as Terminal Avenue today, between the Bastion Street bridge and Comox Road, exist in local photo albums or collections.” Anyone with photos like this should contact Aimee Greenaway at 250 753-1821 or aimee@nanaimomuseum.ca
Corsets from the collection of Melanie Talkington, Lace Embrace Atelier are on loan for the exhibit. Undergarments from Talkington’s collection have been exhibited in internationally renowned museums including the Louvre in Paris.
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The museum is hosting a Red Lights on Fraser Street presentation on Wednesday, February 11 at 1:30. The presentation includes the stories of women who lived on Fraser Street in the early 1900s, the perspectives of law enforcement and possible reasons why the district no longer exists.
The presentation is 45 minutes and the cost is $10. Pre-registration is required.