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American History

Living Hell: New York’s Tenements were Nightmares in the Early 1900s

Men sit in dilapidated tenement room
Bayard Street Lodging House Men Sleep In Tenement Space Rented For Five Cents A Night. Jacob Riis, 1890. Public Domain.

Taking Pride in their Meager Space

A tidy kitchen with ornate stove
Kitchen with ornate stove and dishes. New York City Tenement House Department (c. 1902 – 1914). No known restrictions.

Like the previous tenement dweller, the residents of this unit have also tried to make their tenement into a home.  This kitchen shows a great deal of care and tending.  The floor and cabinets are clean.  The dishes are neatly stacked away.  The shelves are decorated with a scalloped-edged cloth or paper.

And this unit has a unique stove, much more decorated than what one might expect in a tenement.  This image and the previous one shows that there were tenement dwellers who took particular pride in their living space, trying to make it a nice living space for themselves and their families.

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