On the turning of the century, the United States entered a period of growth, and progress. Not only did the cities grow but also, factories, businesses, and incomes did as ‘well. As the opportunities for jobs with higher wages were created, more people were drawn to move into the cities. By 1900, 30 million people, or 30 percent of the total population, lived in cities. Many of the people who moved were the poor, which were drawn by the chance of a better life. Countless American families, and immigrants journeyed from their rural homeland in to the cities to work in the factories. Also it’s estimated that, “by 1904 one in three people living in the cities was close to starving to death.” People living in cities were face with a plummet in the condition, which they lived. The working class also faced many other problems like, inadequate facilities, crowdedness, and diseases.
Many families were force to live in large crowded apartment building in the more squalid sections of a city. The unlucky families will spent the majority of their lives living in these large complexes called tenements. “A typical tenement building had five to seven stories and occupied nearly all of the lot upon which it was built (usually 25 feet wide and 100 feet long, according to existing city regulations). Many tenements began as single-family dwellings, and many older structures were converted into tenements by adding floors on top or by building more space in rear-yard areas.” Most rooms were filled with about 12 or more adults. City authorities didn’t regulate the construction of these 25-foot lots. One tenement was the tenement at 97 Orchard Street. Built in 1864, it was designed to house 20 families. The building was five stories high, twenty-three rooms with a basement. “The largest room (11' x 12'6") was referred to an plans as the living room or parlor, but residents called it the "front room." Behind it came the kitchen and one tiny bedroom. The entire flat, which often contained households of seven or more people, totaled about 325 square feet.” Its difficult to imagine the conditions in which these working families lived.
In the tenements there was many differences between Americans, and newly arrived immigrants due to lack of cultural understanding. Life in the tenements was hard. Cooking a meal in a confine space was difficult due wood or coal burning stoves. Early tenements weren’t equipped with lighting, which made the only source of light emanate from the few windows the buildings had. “In many tenements, only the rooms on the street got any light, and the interior rooms had no ventilation. It wasn’t until the Tenement House Law of 1901 which Jacob Riis and Lillian Wald had a great contribution to it. They created a huge controversy while exposing the conditions that led to the investigations of such places. After the law, “All tenement houses constructed after the passage of the 1901 law were referred to as "new law" tenements. These buildings were constructed according to specific minimum requirements for the size of rooms and amount of light and ventilation.” In the older tenements acquiring water was a struggle due to the water source being outside. During the winter the water source were hard to acquire. Many building that had water source didn’t have warm water and had to be heated on the stove. Most tenements were situated closely to factories, stockyards, and slaughterhouses.
Many families were force to live in large crowded apartment building in the more squalid sections of a city. The unlucky families will spent the majority of their lives living in these large complexes called tenements. “A typical tenement building had five to seven stories and occupied nearly all of the lot upon which it was built (usually 25 feet wide and 100 feet long, according to existing city regulations). Many tenements began as single-family dwellings, and many older structures were converted into tenements by adding floors on top or by building more space in rear-yard areas.” Most rooms were filled with about 12 or more adults. City authorities didn’t regulate the construction of these 25-foot lots. One tenement was the tenement at 97 Orchard Street. Built in 1864, it was designed to house 20 families. The building was five stories high, twenty-three rooms with a basement. “The largest room (11' x 12'6") was referred to an plans as the living room or parlor, but residents called it the "front room." Behind it came the kitchen and one tiny bedroom. The entire flat, which often contained households of seven or more people, totaled about 325 square feet.” Its difficult to imagine the conditions in which these working families lived.
In the tenements there was many differences between Americans, and newly arrived immigrants due to lack of cultural understanding. Life in the tenements was hard. Cooking a meal in a confine space was difficult due wood or coal burning stoves. Early tenements weren’t equipped with lighting, which made the only source of light emanate from the few windows the buildings had. “In many tenements, only the rooms on the street got any light, and the interior rooms had no ventilation. It wasn’t until the Tenement House Law of 1901 which Jacob Riis and Lillian Wald had a great contribution to it. They created a huge controversy while exposing the conditions that led to the investigations of such places. After the law, “All tenement houses constructed after the passage of the 1901 law were referred to as "new law" tenements. These buildings were constructed according to specific minimum requirements for the size of rooms and amount of light and ventilation.” In the older tenements acquiring water was a struggle due to the water source being outside. During the winter the water source were hard to acquire. Many building that had water source didn’t have warm water and had to be heated on the stove. Most tenements were situated closely to factories, stockyards, and slaughterhouses.