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.

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    form to a reasonable sanitary standard, and that houses unfit for human habitation should be condemned. As an outcome of the investiga- tion and the general agitation of the subject, in April, 1897, a corporation known as the Washington Sanitary Improvement Company, was chartered under the laws of the State of Virginia. This company proceeded to build two-flat houses of three or four rooms each. A high standard of construction was adopted. Each flat was complete, having a separate en- trance and exit, separate yard, cellar and bath- room. First-class plumbing was installed and ample provision for light and ventilation was made. Each kitchen was provided with a range and a hot-water boiler. The three-room flats were rented for $9.50 and $10.00 per month and the four-room flats for $12 to $12.50 per month. A rebate of one month’s rent every year was granted to tenants whose flat did not require any repairs. In case any repairs were required they were deducted from the rebate. Eight houses were built by the company the first season. As success attended the efforts of the company from the first, additional houses were built until the number reached 200. Although the aim of the promoters of the company was to provide better homes for alley dwellers and those living under the worst con- ditions, the new houses built by the company [57]