<P> A red - light district or pleasure district is a part of an urban area where a concentration of prostitution and sex - oriented businesses, such as sex shops, strip clubs, and adult theaters are found . Areas in many big cities around the world have acquired an international reputation as red - light districts . </P> <P> The term red - light district originates from the red lights that were used as signs of brothels . </P> <P> Red - light districts are mentioned in the 1882 minutes of a Woman's Christian Temperance Union meeting in the United States . The Oxford English Dictionary records the earliest known appearance of the term "red light district" in print as an 1894 article from the Sandusky Register, a newspaper in Sandusky, Ohio </P> <P> Author Paul Wellman suggests that this and other terms associated with the American Old West originated in Dodge City, Kansas, home to a well - known prostitution district during the 19th century, which included the Red Light House saloon . This has not been proven, but the Dodge City use was likely responsible for the term becoming pervasive . A widespread folk etymology claims that early railroad workers took red lanterns with them when they visited brothels so their crew could find them in the event of an emergency . However, folklorist Barbara Mikkelson regards this as unfounded . </P>

Where did the term red light district originate