The Tenement Traps: A Spatial History of Tenement Housing on the Lower East Side (1850-1940) Open Access

Abstract

My honors thesis focuses on architectural issues of tenement housing on the Lower East Side of Manhattan from 1850-1940. In an age without social media and live streaming, documentary photographers, such as Jacob Riis, had the power to bring lower class issues of overcrowding, fire hazards, air ventilation and overall vice to the general public. This paper, although based in art history, will take a spatial and interdisciplinary approach to the tenement epidemic -- analyzing not only photographs but also maps, architectural floor plans, and primary- source testimonies. As a native New Yorker, and relative of immigrants who travelled through Ellis island and arrived in these sorts of conditions, I have always had an interest in studying the tenements.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Introduction ... 1

Historical/Topographical Foundation... 8

Overcrowding ... 11

Air Ventilation... 19

Fire Hazards... 25

Vice... 31

Conclusion... 36

Appendix... 40

Bibliography... 41

About this Honors Thesis

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School	Emory College
Department	Art History
Degree	B.A.
Submission	Honors Thesis
Language	English
Research Field	Art History Architecture Area Planning and Development
Keyword	spatial history art tenement
Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor	Christina Crawford , Emory University
Committee Members	Jonathan Prude, Emory University Bonna Wescoat, Emory University

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