Catherine Furst Schwartzmeier Lindemann, her daughters, Minnie Lindemann Goehle and Katherine Lindemann Beyerkohler Van Loo, Peter Goehle, the Walshes and the Langans lived in tenement apartments.

The word tenement conjures up images of extreme poverty. However the original meaning of the word was to indicate any type of permanent property held by one person and generally rented to another. The word evolved into a description of a large crowded apartment building especially in the poorer more squalid sections of a city.

A overwhelming majority of immigrants spent some years in tenements before moving on.

While all tenements before central heating were freezing cold in the winter and roasting hot in the summer not all tenements contained the dirty horrible living conditions with high death rates as portrayed by Jacob Riis and other reformers. The reformers were, in fact, depicting the worst scenarios, as reformers often need to do to in presenting their case.

Heating and cooking were done by wood or coal burning stoves.

Early tenements had very dark hallways as lighting was only from a sky light and/or glass transoms in apartment doors. Even the advent of the air shaft next to the stairway did not substantially increase the light and air in the tenement hallways. It wasn't until the Tenement act of 1901 that lighting was required in halls. Gas lighting was initially installed but electic lighting followed quickly behind.

Structurally New York City tenements were generally of two types: - smaller houses of three or four floors that may have originally been one family and were converted into three or four family dwellings - larger buildings constructed as tenements that were typically five or six floors with four families to a floor.

In the oldest and poorest tenements water had to be obtained from an outside pump, frequently frozen in winter. Later buildings generally had a sink and water closet in the hall on each floor. Newer and better class tenements had sinks in the kitchen. They were all "cold water". Water for washing dishes and clothes and for taking baths was heated on the stove.

Many of the larger tenements had a housekeeper, often a widow, who received free rent in exchange for maintaining and cleaning the halls stairs and sweeping the sidewalk in fount of the building. As a result many of these larger tenements were remarkably clean.

For all of the dirty, poverty stricken, hovels there were many more where the conditions may have been crowded but the apartments were as clean as soap and elbow grease could make them.

Many of the larger tenements were very attractive buildings. The brick facades were often decorated with elaborate tin moldings and a network of beautiful wrought iron fire escapes.

A typical tenement image is of multiple lines of laundry flapping merrily in the breeze - which is both a pleasant sight in and of itself and an indication of the industry and cleanliness of the inhabitants.

While some neighborhoods were comprised of a heavy percentage of a given ethnic group most tenements contained a wide variety of nationalities and the smells (good and bad) of the diverse cuisines filled the air.

What made a tenement a tenement was the location and how recently the immigrants had arrived. Similar size apartments in better neighborhoods were called "flats".

The cheapest apartments were in the attic (more stairs to climb). A vast majority of families lived in a four room apartment: - kitchen, two bedrooms and a parlor. In large families the kitchen and parlor might be converted into additional sleeping space at night. Children slept multiples to a bed - which clearly helped with the heat issue in the winter time.

In nicer homes there may have been a carpet on the floor, lace curtains on the window, and pictures on the wall of the parlor. Some even had a piano.

In the summer time when the heat was very intense people often slept on the fire escapes and/or roofs.

Most tenements in the lower east side were in multi-use neighborhoods and situated close to factories, docks, slaughterhouses, and power stations which provided employment to some in the area.

Rent was the major expense for most families. In 1892: - two rooms in an attic cost $3 to $ 5 per month - three rooms (kitchen and two bedrooms) cost $6 to $12 per month - four rooms as described above cost $12 to $16 per month

People moved from apartment to apartment with some frequency. As their financial conditions improved they sought out better housing. As it worsened they many have been forced into cheaper quarters. If their position improved substantially they moved to newer areas of the city where the neighborhoods were mainly residential and the apartments buildings had more amenities or to the outer boroughs where there was more greenery. Eventually, many moved to the suburbs or the country on Long Island, upstate New York or New Jersey - and were replaced in the city apartments with the latest immigrant population.

The Tenements - Interiors

Tenement Life in New York - Mayor Grace's Tour of Inspection 1881

Interior Italian Quarter

"Sick Child"

The sign above the shelf says: "HOME SWEET HOME"

The already crowded condition are acerbated by the need to hang laundry up to dry indoors. This must have been a common occurrence in stretches of wet weather, particularly if there was illness in the house.

Notice, however, in this and the next image that there are lace curtains on the window and some attempts at decoration.

The older woman helping to dress the boy could be a servant or a grandmother. It was very common for multiple generations to live together.

Also, even some of the less well to do had servants.

"The Bright Side of Life in a Tenement House" from "Life in New York Tenement-Houses", as seen by a city missionary dated 1892

"The Dark Side - under the Same Roof" from "Life in New York Tenement-Houses", as seen by a city missionary 1892

I suppose that the man sitting dejectedly at the tale could be taken as a drunk or at least unemployed (All of the articles I have found about the tenements make reference to alcohol as a problem for the poorer classes.).* (See note below)

Other than the patent difference in the clothing and furnishings the physiological implications are obvious:

• Instead of sitting and playing with her baby this mother is comforting a perhaps fussy baby
• The young boy is clearly unhappy, reenforcing the general unhappiness of the family
• Instead of getting help from a mother or servant this women's husband is at home in the middle of the day, indicating some sort of problem
• There is a third child - perhaps indicating a larger family with more mouths to feed
• The wash tub in the foreground and the trash on the floor indicate much work left undone for this already overburdened mother

Conversely, at night the widow might give some light from the apartment to the hall.

See The American Funeral Home : An Archaeology of the Viewing by Sean Patrick Dockray

"Poverty and Death" from "Life in New York Tenement-Houses", as seen by a city missionary dated 1892

This very sweet sketch illustrates several points:

• The importance of the multi generational home, grandparents helped improve the home situation by being baby sitters allowing the mother to go out to work and by performing such labors as this gentleman who can then add his bit to the family income
• The wisps of laundry that are visible at the top of the image again point out that during stretches of bad weather the already crowded quarters became more crowded
• The crucifix on the dresser implies the religious observances practiced by many of the immigrants - regardless of their religious affiliations
• The bird and the cat are tender reminders that many of New York City's immigrants came from rural setting in their home country and liked a bit of nature. My maternal great great grandmother, Nappie Byrne Langan, who was born in rural Mayo and immigrated to New York City in 1892 is said to have feed the mice in her apartment because they reminded her of the field mice back in Ireland.

On The Roof of A Tenement House

Notice how small most of the "yards" are. Surrounded by so many tall buildings they were general dark.

One foot wide by six feet long, the sole source of light and air for sixteen rooms where thirty or forty people sleep."

For twenty years the "dumb-bell" was practically the only type of tenement building constructed on Manhattan Island. There are in existence to-day more than ten thousand of these homes. They are ordinarily five, six, or seven stories high. On the entrance-floor are frequently two shops with three room apartments in the back. In the centre is a long, dark, very narrow entrance-hall. On the upper stories are four families to a floor. Here on each side of every hall are seven rooms, extending back from the street to the yard. The families in the front usually have four rooms each; families in the rear have three. A front apartment has one room opening on the street; back of this are three rooms with windows on an air-shaft twenty-eight inches wide. The rear apartments have one room opening on a yard ten feet deep, and two rooms on the twenty-eight-inch -wide air shaft. Needless to say, the air shaft rooms, front and back are dark except on the top floor. The shafts are "stagnant wells of foul air", "conveyers of noise, oder, and disease, and when fire breaks out serve as inflammable flues."

Good Tenements For A Million People, the Story Of New York's Successful Fight For Better Housing by Emily Wayland Dinwiddie circa 1909 publication unknown, collection of Maggie Land Blanck.

³"Good Tenements For A Million People , the Story Of New York's Successful Fight For Better Housing" by Emily Wayland Dinwiddie circa 1909 publication unknown

"Tenement Life in New York - Rag-pickers Court, Mulberry Street" 1879

Clothes in tatters, laundry in shreds, men idling about, children running wild, mothers beating their children, a obvious drunk - and yet - a man helping the drunk, two little children dancing merrily, a woman with a broom who appears to be cleaning up, and the industrious rag pickers carrying there wares.

Not all the blame for the decrepit living conditions of the tenements should fall on the inhabitants themselves, the landlords held some responsibility - or lack thereof. Two tenements on Grand and lower Fifth Avenue collapsed despite tenant complains:

" Two months ago the occupants of the house remarked that something was wrong. When trains passed on the elevated railroad, or heavy wagons went along Grand Street of South Fifth Avenue, it vibrated to an extraordinary degree. Furniture got out of place, articles left on tables fell from them, window casings bulged, and doors could not be closed or opened. Six weeks ago, at night, several persons in the house were startled by a crack and a jar, and discovered a yawning rent in the party wall. One of the tenants spoke to the landlord and insisted that a complaint be made to the proper authorities, and that the building should be repaired."

Social reformers did put pressure on the city and city housing laws were passed that greatly improved the lot of the tenement dweller.

"Pig alley" from "Life in New York Tenement-Houses" as seen by a city missionary, 1892

This tenement apartment at 340, 342 and 344 Cherry Street was erected by the Tenement-house Building Company a group of "public spirited and philanthropic" citizens to try and address some of the worst issues of tenement housing. It opened in 1888 and boasted a laundry room and bath rooms (rooms with bath tubs) on the lower level as well as a kindergarden on the first floor. Each floor contained a WC (water closet) that was shared by two or more families. All rooms had windows, none were smaller than 10 feet by 8 feet and each apartment contained at least one room that was at least 12 feet by 12 feet. There was no dark narrow hallway, all having widows and gas light at night. Some apartments had running water. Rents were from $6 to $15 per month.

This area of Cherry Street no longer exists. It became the site of the first New York City superproject, the Vladeck Houses - 24 six-story buildings which were started in 1930 and completed in 1941.

Another example of well designed tenement housing. This building still stands.

Tenements Improvements

Housing laws did improve the lives of tenement dwellers and some wealthy real estate investors put their money in tenement housing.

By 1890 new tenement buildings were being constructed to address some of the worst issues of tenement life. Between 71 and 72 on First Avenue a six story building was erected around a courtyard so that every room had a window. The apartments themselves had running water and contained three to four "good sized" rooms with closets. The building contained elevators for coal and garbage and an ash chute. The halls were warmed in winter and lit all year. Each tenant had a space in the cellar to store his coal. In addition there was a bath room on the ground floor of each section that contained bath tubs with hot and cold running water. The rent was from $6 to $13 per month.¹

¹Cosmo 1890 Co-operative Housekeeping in Tenements

Where the poor save a large percent of their fuel bill by purchasing their coal by the ton collectively instead of individually by the basket. It is on East Thirty-first Street, New York.

This building had a "Sun Parlor" on the roof.

Changed from a den of disease and vice to a decent place to live in, by a model landlord, Miss Ellen Collins. The house yields 5.5 per cent income."²

The Tenement House Law of 1901 could not necessitate that all 80,000 old tenement buildings be torn down but did require improvements - halls be lighted and ventilated, every family had to have a fire escape and "decent sanitation facilities". ²

²Good Tenements For A Million People, the Story Of New York's Successful Fight For Better Housing by Emily Wayland Dinwiddie circa 1909 publication unknown

"The Census - An Enumerator collecting statistics in the German District on the East Side, New York City"

Eviction was a common fact of a lifestyle that was often hand to mouth. An illness or death in the family could result in a significant reduction in income and an inability to pay the rent. Widows with small children were particularly susceptible to eviction. Assistance often came in the form of family friends and neighbors taking up a collection to tide the family over.

"Evicted - on the Sidewalk" from Life in New York Tenement-Houses" as seen by a city missionary, 1892

This poor lady, her baby and two small children are out on the streets with their meager possessions.

Bathing

Bathing, even among the upper classes, was not popular before the late 1800s. As health authorities began to become aware of the need for public hygiene, bathing was encouraged for all classes and in 1895 state legislature mandated the availability of public baths in cities of 50,000 or more.

A majority of tenements in the 1890s did not have indoor plumbing. Those apartments with running water had only cold.

In some tenements the only water came from a faucet in an unlit hall way and some tenements had only one facet per building, supplying up to fifty tenants.

Bathroom, when available, where most likely no more than one per floor and shared by several tenants. The common bath frequently did not include a tub or shower.

In 1905, there were areas in New York where 36 baths were shared by at least 2,500 families and in some blocks there are as many as 800 families and no bath at all.

Tenement bathing usually took place in the kitchen in a dish pan, the sink, or a portable tub.

To make bathing available to the tenement dwellers the city build public baths.

The first public bath in Manhattan was opened on 326 Rivington Street in 1902 and in five months accommodated 224,876 bathers, about three times as many men as women.

In 1905 there were 7 public baths in the Manhattan, five were under municipal management and were absolutely free, the other two charged a minimum fee for soap and a towel.

There were four more baths under construction and one in the planning stage.

In addition there were floating baths along the river. These were as much swimming pools as places to wash, thus combining recreation and public hygiene. The floating baths were a kind of wooden wharf enclosing a swimming pool that allowed the river water to flow through. In 1902 the floating baths were used by 5 or 6 million in the summer season.

Some young men braved the dangers of the rivers by jumping off the docks to take a summer swim.

While the article includes this photo, very little was said about the use of showers in public schools. The children do appear to be standing in front of a swimming pool.

Laundry

Tenement Life in New York - Mayor Grace's Tour of Inspection 1881

Yard of a Tenement, New York copyright 1900, posted 1906.

"The Water Supply for Three Ludlow Street Tenement Houses 1890"

While there is a lot of discussion in the literature of the period about washing of persons, washing of clothes, water in court yards and water in apartments, there is almost no mention of toilets (or lack thereof). Other than the occasionally mention of a chamber pot almost nothing is said. This is the only image that I have found of the toilet facilities. While this image is entitled "the water supply" the toilets in the background were not supplied with water. In other words, they were not flush toilets but the old-fashioned pit outhouses (AKA privies). Interestingly a lot of archaeological work has been done on the lives of tenement dwellers in New York as a result of excavating these old privies because for what ever reason people threw or dropped a variety of items in the privy.

One of the most notorious tenement areas in New York was the infamous "Five Points", site of the "Gangs of New York". A lot of information about the lives of the people who live in Five Points has been obtained from the excavations of the privies in the area. My son Damian, Blanck, worked for several years on the Five Point project and helped build the web site which can be seen at The Five Points Site

Unfortunately, the majority of the 850,000 artifacts found at Five Points were housed in the basement of Six World Trade center which was destroyed on 9/11/01 when the facade of Tower One fell on it. Only 18 articles from the collection survived because they were on loan at the time. So the only remnants are the images on the web site and in some publications.

The following pictures and information were taken from a Munsey Magazine article of 1904.

Playgrounds for the lesser classes in the city were a relatively new idea that only came into vogue around the turn of the century. The first one opened in New York City in 1890. Previous parks, like Central Park, had been conceived as bits of nature brought to the city and were designed for people who had the means and leisure to enjoy them. The new playground parks had less trees and grass and a greater emphasis on involving children in physical activity and games.

Typically the younger children's play areas were co-ed and included baby swings and sand boxes. The children were divided by sex at a young age.

The girls' yard play yards included swings and equipment for less strenuous games. The boys' play yards included gymnastics and athletics equipment.

The new parks also attracted older girls on their "Saturday half day holiday from the factory".

The new playground teachers found the children's range of games was rather limited and that previously amusements consisted in playing "house" and "funeral".

"HERE THE YOUNGEST CHILDREN, BOYS AND GIRLS, SHARE A PASTIME THAT NEVER SEEMS TO LOSE ITS CHARM"

Most tenement dwellings did not have refrigeration until the 1930s. In the summer time it was necessary to shop frequently since the food would not keep.

The lack of refrigeration and storage required that food be bought in small quantities which is always more expensive that buying in bulk hence increasing the cost of food.

The most common beverage was tea.

Lower East Side Shopping 1904

While the women with their shawls pulled tight and the girl's blowing skirt indicate that the weather is at least chilly, no one is wearing an overcoat.

For more images of the streets and stores go to Lower Manhattan

Lest we think that only the working poor lived in multi storied multi family dwellings - such buildings were also the home of the wealthy. However, there were some major differences. Everett N Blanke in the "Cliff Dwellers of New York" published in Cosmo in 1893 says the distinction between an apartment house and a tenement is "somewhat hazy" until one considers the etymology of the two words.

"Tenement" is derived from the Latin verb "ternere" (to hold) and is the name properly given to a building that is designed to hold or to give shelter to the largest possible number of persons, at least possible cast to each individual tenant. "Apartment" however, is an anglicized derivation of another Latin verb, "partare" (to divide), and with equal propriety is applied to a dwelling house, of which the structural and social intent is to separate family from family and to gratify the desire for privacy that every household naturally feels, at the same time reducing the expense of that gratification to a low estimate,....... Economy, there fore, is the purpose of the tenement - comfort that of the apartment."

The first "apartment" house, called Stuyvesant, was build in 1870. By 1893 New York contained 700 "apartment" houses. Nearly all of them were equipped with "electrical and steam appliances". This included the passenger elevator which made the upper stories of these building more - instead of less desirable - as the top floors of walk up tenements were. The easily accessible top floor was far away from the dust and noise of the street and nearer a cooling summer breeze. However, most of New York's wealthy left the city to spent the summer at their county or beach houses.

Eclectic lighting was clean, odorless and constant. Steam heat was controlled by a thermostat enabling a constant temperature. The ordinary apartment consisted of seven to ten spacious rooms generally all on one level. Moreover, the wealthy had servants - maids, butlers, cooks and nursemaids - to take care of those nasty chores for them.

Information from"The Cliff-Dwellers of New York" by Everett N Blanke, Cosmo 1893.

Several images and some information came from an article entitled "Life in New York Tenement-Houses as seen by a city missionary" by William T Elsing. There are numerous venders of historical images and articles who cut up old publication and sell them as individual items. Unfortunately, when I bought this article the name and date of the periodical were missing. I had tentatively dated the article to 1903 because Elsing makes reference to "The first bath was opened last August". Other sources refer to the first public bath opening in New York City on Rivington Street in 1902. Trying to give an exact date to Elsing's article, I looked on line. I can find several references to an article of exactly the same title attributed to Scribners June 1892. Unfortunately, I was not able to access the actual article. The reference to the baths opening a year before is confusing but I believe that the article I have is that from Scribners June 1892.

William T. Elsing was a minister and social reformer whos name is connected in several publications with the well known social reformer, Jacob Riis.

William T Elsing was born in 1852 in Holland. He was listed in the 1900 Census in Queens as a preacher with his wife Mary and two sons, Morris, age 17, and Warren, age 14 and a servant. In 1910 he was listed in Ward 19 Brooklyn, as a boarder, married, clergyman city mission, his wife was not listed. In 1920 he was in Manhattan, pastor church, age 69 widowed.

Several images and some information came from an article entitled "Good Tenements For A Million People, the Story Of New York's Successful Fight For Better Housing" by Emily Wayland Dinwiddie

As with the William Elsing article this one came undated and the publisher unknown. It does refer to the New York City Tenement House Department report of 1909.

Emily Wayalnd Dinwiddie born 1849 died 1947 was a social worker. For more information on Emily Wayland Dinwiddie go to Emily Wayland Dinwiddie