Between dusk and dark the street was swaddled in illusory innocence. We were reminded of the magnificent dance halls and brothels that enlivened Paris at the turn of the last century, and we thought about Degas and Toulouse-Lautrec, whose images immortalized the intimate lives of les filles de joie. We imagined a fanciful world of laughter and love, and we were inspired to create the ladies of rue St. Denis who never were...

...but should have been.