Red-light district

From Wikinfo

A red-light district is a neighborhood where prostitution is common. The term was first recorded in the United States around 1890, and derives from the practice of placing a red light in the window to indicate to customers the (often illegal) nature of the business.

Interestingly, one of the many terms used for a red-light district in Japanese is akasen (赤線), meaning "red-line district".

Famous Red-Light Districts

• The Levee - Chicago, Illinois
• Barbary Coast - San Francisco, California
• The Block - Baltimore, Maryland
• Boulevard de Clichy - Paris, France
• Patpong, Nana Plaza and Soi Cowboy - Bangkok, Thailand
• Pattaya, Thailand
• De Wallen - Amsterdam, the Netherlands
• Geylang - Singapore
• Kabukicho - Tokyo, Japan
• Kings Cross - London, UK
• Kings Cross District - Sydney, Australia
• Patpong - Bangkok, Thailand
• Reeperbahn - Hamburg
• Storyville - New Orleans, Louisiana
• Wagh el Birket - Cairo, Egypt
• Yoshiwara - Tokyo, Japan (in Edo period)
• Raval - Barcelona, Spain
• Petit Socco - Tangier, Morocco

References

• Adapted from the Wikipedia article, "Red-light_district" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red-light_district, used under the GNU Free Documentation License