Modern cities : progress of the awakening for their betterment here and in Europe / by Horatio M. Pollock and William S. Morgan.

  • Horatio Milo Pollock
Date:
1913
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Modern cities : progress of the awakening for their betterment here and in Europe / by Horatio M. Pollock and William S. Morgan. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    80/476 (page 52)
    The up-keep of the tenements under Talamo’s cliarge is only a small item compared with that of the ordinary tenements. The municipal company is following Tala- mo’s example. It has adopted his methods of management, and although it has not succeeded in securing a manager with Talamo’s genius, its tenements are in much better condition than those ordinarily found in the city. Not many cities in America have made care- ful investigations of housing conditions, but those which have conducted such investigations have foimd many things to be corrected. One of the most noteworthy attempts has been the establishment of the tenement-house depart- ment of New York City. Before 1900 the standards of tenement-house construction in New York were very low and the city exercised but little supervision over the erection of build- ings. As a consequence, there were built in many parts of the city whole blocks of tenements which, although having a respectable or even attractive outside appearance, were lacking in many of the essentials of good homes. Halls were narrow and dark, bed-rooms were with- out windows or air-shafts, toilet facilities were inadequate, fire-escapes were lacking and no provisions for ventilation were made. In some cases the only toilet facilities were school sinks in the rear of the tenements, which when the [52]