Cobblestone articles from February 2004

Cobblestone archives from February 2004

Editor's note.
February 1, 2004... For many people, the word "tenement" means the worst kind of place to live--only a step above a slum. The truth is, however, that the first American tenements were built to address an immediate need for more housing in U.S. cities. New...

Floor plan of a tenement apartment.(Geographically Speaking)
February 1, 2004... about 1863 no running water, bathrooms, heating system, or source of light other than exterior windows BEDROOM KITCHEN PARLOR entrance about 1905 toilets (2 shared by all inhabitants of 4 apartments) air...

Greenhorn no more: Victoria's story.
February 1, 2004... Editor's Note: Visitors to the Lower East Side Tenement Museum in New York City can meet Victoria Confino (portrayed by a costumed interpreter). In the early 1900s, Victoria actually resided in the building. The museum staff has compiled her...

The scoop on toilets.
February 1, 2004... A 1901 law insisted that all New York tenements have indoor running water and flushable water closets on every floor. But some building owners did not comply immediately with the law. So how did tenement dwellers answer "nature's call" both...

Rise of the tenement: the vacant lot next to this row of tenement houses probably did not remain empty for long, given the desperate need for immigrant housing.
February 1, 2004... I come from New York, the city of the tenements, where people are so crowded together that frequently twenty-four families are living on a lot no larger than 25 feet by 100;... in rooms which have no more light or ventilation than can sift...

The pros and cons of tenement life.
February 1, 2004... PROS + Closeness to work: Tenement residents had a difficult time finding dependable public transportation to bring them to their workplaces. Living and working close together made life easier. Fraternity: Immigrants sharing the same...

Paid by the piece.
February 1, 2004... In the late 1800s and early 1900s, most workplaces were very similar to tenements: dark, dirty, noisy, and depending on the season, either very hot or terribly cold. Workers in the United States suffered a higher accident and death rate than...

Through the eyes of Riis.
February 1, 2004... Like many of the tenement dwellers, Jacob A. Riis was an immigrant. Born in Ribe, Denmark, in 1849, he came to the United States at the age of twenty-one. His first three years in America were hard. Trained as a carpenter, Riis moved from place...

'Apostles of ugliness': the ashcan artists.
February 1, 2004... At the turn of the twentieth century, six artists (teacher Robert Henri; his students John Sloan, George Luks, Everett Shinn, and William Glackens; and their friend, George Bellows) arrived in New York City within a few years of one another. At...

Hide-and-go-seek.(Quote of the Month)
February 1, 2004... Tenement life was not lacking in all fun for comedian Nathan Birnbaum. Born the ninth of twelve children in 1896, Birnbaum grew up on New York City's Lower East Side. In the 1920s, he started a comedy act with Gracie Allen, who later became his...

Did you know?
February 1, 2004... "Tenement" is from the Latin "tenere," which means "to hold." Its earliest recorded definition dates back to 1315, when it meant "land" or "property held by another." The Tenement House Law of 1901 met with much resistance from tenement...

Fun & games.
February 1, 2004... Though tenement living could be crowded and depressing, life in a city at the turn of the twentieth century had its share of amusements for children. With many families living on each block, there were plenty of girls and boys of all ages to...

Lights ... toilets ... action!
February 1, 2004... In 1864, a group of reformers and activists concerned with tenement conditions established New York's Council of Hygiene and Public Health. By 1867, the council convinced the city to pass the first of many laws to improve tenement housing...

Lillian Wald and the Henry Street Settlement.
February 1, 2004... Ten-year-old Joseph Malave attends ah after-school program offered by the Henry Street Settlement at his school in New York City. "Most days we spend the first hour doing homework, then we do an activity," says Joseph, a fifth grader. "There...

Public housing today.
February 1, 2004... The tenement houses constructed in U.S. cities before and during the 1860s were built and owned by private citizens. Although local urban officials sometimes tried to introduce laws to improve housing for the poor, the federal government did...

97 Orchard Street.
February 1, 2004... Have you ever visited New York City and seen the Statue of Liberty, walked through Ellis Island, and strolled around Castle Clinton? These U.S. landmarks symbolize the welcoming of immigrants to a new life. But did you ever wonder what happened...

Brain ticklers.
February 1, 2004... Give your brain a little tickle to see how well you read and understood this issue on Tenement Life. If you believe the answer to be false, give yourself the ultimate test and see whether you can explain why it is false. Answers on page 43. ...

Final word.
February 1, 2004... Can you imagine living in three-room apartment with ten people? What would be the greatest challenge for you: lack of privacy, poor sleeping conditions, little sunlight and fresh air, or something else? How many people can you count...

Snow.(Letters)
February 1, 2004... Snow Snow is as peaceful as chirping birds. Chirping birds are as beautiful as decorations on Christmas Eve. Decorations on Christmas Eve are as bright as the sun on a hot summer day. A hot summer...

I Dream.(Letters)
February 1, 2004... I Dream I dream of a world without war-- no social class, no rich of poor. No one must survive alone-- no more tears, no broken homes. I dream of a world without a race-- a world where black...

The Really Weird Limerick.(Letters)
February 1, 2004... The Really Weird Limerick I think limericks are Irish. I also think they are quite stylish. They can be fun, like a day in the sun. But this one is kind of foolish. Matthew Harrison Powhatan, Virginia...

Have You Ever ...?(Letters)
February 1, 2004... Have You Ever...? Have you ever sensed you were turning oh so slowly? Or felt a seed sprout like a child's first step? I have-- I'm earth. Have you ever been soaring with the wings of an...

Thoughts.(Letters)
February 1, 2004... Thoughts Squeeze more juice out of the lemon before you throw it away. Get more muddy, and lose more needles in the hay. Hold on tight, and don't let go. If the current is strong, then go with...

My Book Review.(Letters)
February 1, 2004... My Book Review Remember the Ladies is a wonderful book full of stories of women who have done amazing things. It describes women who have been poets, helpers, leaders, musicians, peacemakers, and more. ...

Love.(Letters)
February 1, 2004... Love Love is like a rose in a garden, the rose as red as a heart, the heart as pure as my soul, the soul as gold as the sun, the sun as bright as her eyes, her eyes as blue as the ocean, the ocean as clear as...

Dear Cobblestonians.
February 1, 2004... You probably are familiar with many of the major battles of the Revolutionary War: Lexington and Concord, Saratoga, Yorktown. Later this year, COBBLESTONE plans to add to your knowledge of the American Revolution with ah issue dedicated to...

Books to read.
February 1, 2004... Fire! The Beginnings of the Labor Movement by Barbara Diamond Goldin (New York: Viking Penguin, 1992, www.penguin putnam.com) part of the Once Upon America series, describes how eleven-year-old Rosie becomes involved in the fight for better...

97 Orchard Street, New York: Stories of Tenement Life.
February 1, 2004... by Linda Granfield (New York: Tundra Books, 2001, www.tundrabooks.com/) tells the experiences of four families in a tenement house during the early 1900s. The author describes their struggles, such as trying to survive in cramped living...

On the web.
February 1, 2004... The Lower East Side Tenement Museum's Web site can be found at www.tenement.org. Check it out for current exhibits, education programs, teacher resources, and more. You can link to a virtual tour of 97 Orchard Street at...

Places to visit.
February 1, 2004... Lower East Side Tenement Museum, New York, New York. For an interpretation of the immigrant experience, tour the restored tenement building at 97 Orchard Street, which is dedicated to the immigrant, working-class poor and tenement dwellers. ...

From the archives.
February 1, 2004... Social and economic concerns in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries have been the topic of several past issues of COBBLESTONE, such as America at Work: The Industrial Revolution (COB8109), The Gilded Age (COB0004), The Great Depression...