These stark, vibrant photos take you inside the impoverished, culturally rich, crime-ridden immigrant slums of turn-of-the-century New York.
Like this gallery?Share it:
Share
And if you liked this post, be sure to check out these popular posts:
What Immigrant Life Looked Like In Early 20th Century America
Explore Singer Castle, New York’s Turn-Of-The-Century Palace Filled With Secret Passageways And A Dungeon
42 Photos Of People Around The World At The Turn Of The Century
1 of 52"Bandit’s Roost," a notorious hangout for the criminal element at 59 Mulberry Street in Little Italy, 1888. At the time, the area was among the most impoverished and crime-ridden in the entire city.
This image comes from photographer and journalist Jacob Riis’ 1890 work How The Other Half Lives, which helped reveal the blight among New York’s immigrant neighborhoods.Jacob Riis/Wikimedia Commons 2 of 52Pike and Henry Streets in the Lower East Side, with the Manhattan Bridge looming in the background, 1936.Berenice Abbott/New York Public Library 3 of 52Beggar with his hand out (undated photo, circa 1900-1920).Bain News Service/Library of Congress 4 of 52Rivington Street in the Lower East Side, circa 1900-1915.Detroit Publishing Co./Library of Congress 5 of 52Children lick a massive block of ice to stay cool on July 6, 1912.Library of Congress 6 of 52An Italian immigrant carries a dry goods box down Bleecker Street, February 1912.Lewis Wickes Hine/Library of Congress 7 of 52A beggar, perhaps disfigured during World War I, sits on the street (undated photo, early 1900s).Bain News Service/Library of Congress 8 of 52Street children sleeping, circa 1890.Jacob Riis/Wikimedia Commons 9 of 52An Italian immigrant’s shop on Mott Street circa 1912.Library of Congress 10 of 52Refuse piles up at the entrance to the tenements at 53 to 59 MacDougal Street, February 1912.
In the late 1800s and early 1900s, New York City’s trash problem reached epic proportions. In 1894, newly elected mayor William Strong knew he had to do something, and offered the job of sanitation commissioner to Teddy Roosevelt, who refused, essentially saying that it was an impossible job.Lewis Wickes Hine/Library of Congress 11 of 52Things got even worse during the garbage strike of November 8-11, 1908. Pictured: Crowds and police gather in the street during the strike.Bain News Service/Library of Congress 12 of 52The “White Wings” clean the streets, under police protection, during the garbage strike of November 8-11, 1908.
The “White Wings” took to the streets under the orders of pioneering sanitary engineer George Waring, whose efforts ameliorated but didn’t totally solve the city’s trash problem.Library of Congress 13 of 52Children play near a dead horse left to rot in the street, circa 1905.Wikimedia Commons 14 of 52Children gather in Mullen’s Alley in the Cherry Hill area of lower Manhattan, 1888.Jacob Riis/Wikimedia Commons 15 of 52A woman carries a bundle of clothing to be sewn at home near Astor Place, February 1912.
Poor immigrant workers often toiled for long hours and took their work home with them.Lewis Wickes Hine/Library of Congress 16 of 52A street peddler who’d slept in a basement at 11 Ludlow Street in the Lower East Side, 1899.Jacob Riis/Wikimedia Commons 17 of 52Two women and a man gather in front of outhouses at an unspecified location, circa 1902-1914.
Most turn-of-the-century New York City tenements didn’t have indoor plumbing.New York Tenement House Department/New York Public Library 18 of 52A food vendor sells his wares in the streets of the Lower East Side on February 24, 1917.Bain News Service/Library of Congress 19 of 52Dead bodies lie in an alley off Monroe Street following a nearby fire, December 1913.Library of Congress 20 of 52Men wait on the bread line in the Bowery on February 7, 1910.Library of Congress 21 of 52Jewish immigrants carry packages of matzo, April 1908.Bain News Service/Library of Congress 22 of 52The Municipal Lodging House for the homeless sits across the street from an abandoned lot on 25th Street, circa 1909-1920.
The house opened in February 1909 to help treat a citywide homelessness problem that saw as many as 600 new applicants looking for shelter each day.Library of Congress 23 of 52Men stand at a corner on Chinatown’s Pell Street, circa 1900.Byron/Library of Congress 24 of 52Crowds at Pitt and Rivington Streets in the Lower East Side, 1915.Underwood & Underwood/Library of Congress 25 of 52Street festival in Little Italy, 1908.Library of Congress 26 of 52Clothes line the railings of the tenements at 260 to 268 Elizabeth Street, March 1912.Lewis Wickes Hine/Library of Congress 27 of 52Street dweller, circa 1890.Jacob Riis/Wikimedia Commons 28 of 52Children wearing signs in English and Yiddish protest child labor conditions on May 1, 1909.
At the turn of the century, just about one-fifth of America’s workforce was under the age of 16 – and New York was no exception.Library of Congress 29 of 52Boys in Hell’s Kitchen demonstrate how they rob people who have passed out. Jacob Riis/Wikimedia Commons 30 of 52Children behind the tenements at 134 1/2 Thompson Street, February 1912.Lewis Wickes Hine/Library of Congress 31 of 52Two newspaper boys asleep in the press room of The Sun, 1892.
Working for the newspapers was one dependable way for young boys to earn some extra money for their families. However, their labor was often exploited and undervalued, leading to the infamous newsboys strike of 1899.Jacob Riis/Wikimedia Commons 32 of 52Chinatown storefront, circa 1903.Library of Congress 33 of 52Man killed by a bomb at an anarchist rally in Union Square on March 28, 1908.
In the face of a depressed economic climate and exploitative labor conditions, among other far-reaching factors, anarchism saw a wave of popularity in the U.S. in the late 1800s and early 1900s, with New York being no exception. Library of Congress 34 of 52107th Street just east of 3rd Avenue, February 1912.Lewis Wickes Hine/Library of Congress 35 of 52Street merchants in Little Italy (undated photo, most likely circa 1900-1920).Bain News Service/Library of Congress 36 of 52Children prepare to transport a load of kimonos on Thompson Street, February 1912.Lewis Wickes Hine/Library of Congress 37 of 52Hell’s Kitchen, just before 1890.Jacob Riis/Wikimedia Commons 38 of 52Impoverished populations in the Lower East Side, circa late 1800s.Jacob Riis/Wikimedia Commons 39 of 52Little Italy’s Mulberry Street, circa 1890.Jacob Riis/Wikimedia Commons 40 of 52The Bowery, February 1912.
The Bowery, a street and eponymous neighborhood running through what is now Manhattan’s East Village, was a notorious hotbed of crime, poverty, and taboo behaviors (prostitution and homosexuality among them) during the wave of immigration to New York City in the late 1800s and early 1900s.Lewis Wickes Hine/Library of Congress 41 of 5221-23 Pearl Street (undated photo, circa 1890-1919).Robert L. Bracklow Photograph Collection/New York Historical Society 42 of 52Stevedore working in the fish market of the Lower East Side, May-June 1943.Gordon Parks/Library of Congress 43 of 52A boy uses the curbside water pump at Trinity Place, just south of Cedar Street, 1902.
Public pumps like these allowed poorer people who didn’t have their own taps access to running water.Robert L. Bracklow Photograph Collection/New York Historical Society 44 of 52Street peddler in the Lower East Side (undated photo, circa late 1800s to early 1900s).New York Public Library 45 of 52Hester Street, between Allen and Orchard Streets in the Lower East Side, 1938.Berenice Abbott/New York Public Library 46 of 52A girl on the sidewalk in Little Italy, circa 1950s.Walter Silver American/New York Public Library 47 of 52Orchard Street in the Lower East Side, circa 1902-1914.New York Tenement House Department/New York Public Library 48 of 52Ten-year-old child waits to walk across Broadway at Leroy Street, February 1912.Lewis Wickes Hine/Library of Congress 49 of 52Rooftop pigeon coop at an unspecified location, circa 1934-1938.New York Tenement House Department/New York Public Library 50 of 52A young girl brings cloth “homework” back to her tenement to be sewn, circa 1912.Lewis Wickes Hine/New York Public Library 51 of 52Mulberry and Prince Streets, 1935.Berenice Abbott/New York Public Library 52 of 52Like this gallery?Share it:
Share
Inside Turn-Of-The-Century New York’s Immigrant Slums View Gallery
On December 17, 1900, the U.S. government opened an immigration processing station on New York’s Ellis Island. By that point, the city had already been processing hundreds of thousands of immigrants per year for more than a decade. After that point, those numbers truly exploded.
Like this gallery?Share it:
Share
And if you liked this post, be sure to check out these popular posts:
What Immigrant Life Looked Like In Early 20th Century America
Explore Singer Castle, New York’s Turn-Of-The-Century Palace Filled With Secret Passageways And A Dungeon
42 Photos Of People Around The World At The Turn Of The Century
1 of 52"Bandit’s Roost," a notorious hangout for the criminal element at 59 Mulberry Street in Little Italy, 1888. At the time, the area was among the most impoverished and crime-ridden in the entire city.
This image comes from photographer and journalist Jacob Riis’ 1890 work How The Other Half Lives, which helped reveal the blight among New York’s immigrant neighborhoods.Jacob Riis/Wikimedia Commons 2 of 52Pike and Henry Streets in the Lower East Side, with the Manhattan Bridge looming in the background, 1936.Berenice Abbott/New York Public Library 3 of 52Beggar with his hand out (undated photo, circa 1900-1920).Bain News Service/Library of Congress 4 of 52Rivington Street in the Lower East Side, circa 1900-1915.Detroit Publishing Co./Library of Congress 5 of 52Children lick a massive block of ice to stay cool on July 6, 1912.Library of Congress 6 of 52An Italian immigrant carries a dry goods box down Bleecker Street, February 1912.Lewis Wickes Hine/Library of Congress 7 of 52A beggar, perhaps disfigured during World War I, sits on the street (undated photo, early 1900s).Bain News Service/Library of Congress 8 of 52Street children sleeping, circa 1890.Jacob Riis/Wikimedia Commons 9 of 52An Italian immigrant’s shop on Mott Street circa 1912.Library of Congress 10 of 52Refuse piles up at the entrance to the tenements at 53 to 59 MacDougal Street, February 1912.
In the late 1800s and early 1900s, New York City’s trash problem reached epic proportions. In 1894, newly elected mayor William Strong knew he had to do something, and offered the job of sanitation commissioner to Teddy Roosevelt, who refused, essentially saying that it was an impossible job.Lewis Wickes Hine/Library of Congress 11 of 52Things got even worse during the garbage strike of November 8-11, 1908. Pictured: Crowds and police gather in the street during the strike.Bain News Service/Library of Congress 12 of 52The “White Wings” clean the streets, under police protection, during the garbage strike of November 8-11, 1908.
The “White Wings” took to the streets under the orders of pioneering sanitary engineer George Waring, whose efforts ameliorated but didn’t totally solve the city’s trash problem.Library of Congress 13 of 52Children play near a dead horse left to rot in the street, circa 1905.Wikimedia Commons 14 of 52Children gather in Mullen’s Alley in the Cherry Hill area of lower Manhattan, 1888.Jacob Riis/Wikimedia Commons 15 of 52A woman carries a bundle of clothing to be sewn at home near Astor Place, February 1912.
Poor immigrant workers often toiled for long hours and took their work home with them.Lewis Wickes Hine/Library of Congress 16 of 52A street peddler who’d slept in a basement at 11 Ludlow Street in the Lower East Side, 1899.Jacob Riis/Wikimedia Commons 17 of 52Two women and a man gather in front of outhouses at an unspecified location, circa 1902-1914.
Most turn-of-the-century New York City tenements didn’t have indoor plumbing.New York Tenement House Department/New York Public Library 18 of 52A food vendor sells his wares in the streets of the Lower East Side on February 24, 1917.Bain News Service/Library of Congress 19 of 52Dead bodies lie in an alley off Monroe Street following a nearby fire, December 1913.Library of Congress 20 of 52Men wait on the bread line in the Bowery on February 7, 1910.Library of Congress 21 of 52Jewish immigrants carry packages of matzo, April 1908.Bain News Service/Library of Congress 22 of 52The Municipal Lodging House for the homeless sits across the street from an abandoned lot on 25th Street, circa 1909-1920.
The house opened in February 1909 to help treat a citywide homelessness problem that saw as many as 600 new applicants looking for shelter each day.Library of Congress 23 of 52Men stand at a corner on Chinatown’s Pell Street, circa 1900.Byron/Library of Congress 24 of 52Crowds at Pitt and Rivington Streets in the Lower East Side, 1915.Underwood & Underwood/Library of Congress 25 of 52Street festival in Little Italy, 1908.Library of Congress 26 of 52Clothes line the railings of the tenements at 260 to 268 Elizabeth Street, March 1912.Lewis Wickes Hine/Library of Congress 27 of 52Street dweller, circa 1890.Jacob Riis/Wikimedia Commons 28 of 52Children wearing signs in English and Yiddish protest child labor conditions on May 1, 1909.
At the turn of the century, just about one-fifth of America’s workforce was under the age of 16 – and New York was no exception.Library of Congress 29 of 52Boys in Hell’s Kitchen demonstrate how they rob people who have passed out. Jacob Riis/Wikimedia Commons 30 of 52Children behind the tenements at 134 1/2 Thompson Street, February 1912.Lewis Wickes Hine/Library of Congress 31 of 52Two newspaper boys asleep in the press room of The Sun, 1892.
Working for the newspapers was one dependable way for young boys to earn some extra money for their families. However, their labor was often exploited and undervalued, leading to the infamous newsboys strike of 1899.Jacob Riis/Wikimedia Commons 32 of 52Chinatown storefront, circa 1903.Library of Congress 33 of 52Man killed by a bomb at an anarchist rally in Union Square on March 28, 1908.
In the face of a depressed economic climate and exploitative labor conditions, among other far-reaching factors, anarchism saw a wave of popularity in the U.S. in the late 1800s and early 1900s, with New York being no exception. Library of Congress 34 of 52107th Street just east of 3rd Avenue, February 1912.Lewis Wickes Hine/Library of Congress 35 of 52Street merchants in Little Italy (undated photo, most likely circa 1900-1920).Bain News Service/Library of Congress 36 of 52Children prepare to transport a load of kimonos on Thompson Street, February 1912.Lewis Wickes Hine/Library of Congress 37 of 52Hell’s Kitchen, just before 1890.Jacob Riis/Wikimedia Commons 38 of 52Impoverished populations in the Lower East Side, circa late 1800s.Jacob Riis/Wikimedia Commons 39 of 52Little Italy’s Mulberry Street, circa 1890.Jacob Riis/Wikimedia Commons 40 of 52The Bowery, February 1912.
The Bowery, a street and eponymous neighborhood running through what is now Manhattan’s East Village, was a notorious hotbed of crime, poverty, and taboo behaviors (prostitution and homosexuality among them) during the wave of immigration to New York City in the late 1800s and early 1900s.Lewis Wickes Hine/Library of Congress 41 of 5221-23 Pearl Street (undated photo, circa 1890-1919).Robert L. Bracklow Photograph Collection/New York Historical Society 42 of 52Stevedore working in the fish market of the Lower East Side, May-June 1943.Gordon Parks/Library of Congress 43 of 52A boy uses the curbside water pump at Trinity Place, just south of Cedar Street, 1902.
Public pumps like these allowed poorer people who didn’t have their own taps access to running water.Robert L. Bracklow Photograph Collection/New York Historical Society 44 of 52Street peddler in the Lower East Side (undated photo, circa late 1800s to early 1900s).New York Public Library 45 of 52Hester Street, between Allen and Orchard Streets in the Lower East Side, 1938.Berenice Abbott/New York Public Library 46 of 52A girl on the sidewalk in Little Italy, circa 1950s.Walter Silver American/New York Public Library 47 of 52Orchard Street in the Lower East Side, circa 1902-1914.New York Tenement House Department/New York Public Library 48 of 52Ten-year-old child waits to walk across Broadway at Leroy Street, February 1912.Lewis Wickes Hine/Library of Congress 49 of 52Rooftop pigeon coop at an unspecified location, circa 1934-1938.New York Tenement House Department/New York Public Library 50 of 52A young girl brings cloth “homework” back to her tenement to be sewn, circa 1912.Lewis Wickes Hine/New York Public Library 51 of 52Mulberry and Prince Streets, 1935.Berenice Abbott/New York Public Library 52 of 52Like this gallery?Share it:
Share
Like this gallery?Share it:
Share
And if you liked this post, be sure to check out these popular posts:
What Immigrant Life Looked Like In Early 20th Century America
Explore Singer Castle, New York’s Turn-Of-The-Century Palace Filled With Secret Passageways And A Dungeon
42 Photos Of People Around The World At The Turn Of The Century
1 of 52"Bandit’s Roost," a notorious hangout for the criminal element at 59 Mulberry Street in Little Italy, 1888. At the time, the area was among the most impoverished and crime-ridden in the entire city.
This image comes from photographer and journalist Jacob Riis’ 1890 work How The Other Half Lives, which helped reveal the blight among New York’s immigrant neighborhoods.Jacob Riis/Wikimedia Commons 2 of 52Pike and Henry Streets in the Lower East Side, with the Manhattan Bridge looming in the background, 1936.Berenice Abbott/New York Public Library 3 of 52Beggar with his hand out (undated photo, circa 1900-1920).Bain News Service/Library of Congress 4 of 52Rivington Street in the Lower East Side, circa 1900-1915.Detroit Publishing Co./Library of Congress 5 of 52Children lick a massive block of ice to stay cool on July 6, 1912.Library of Congress 6 of 52An Italian immigrant carries a dry goods box down Bleecker Street, February 1912.Lewis Wickes Hine/Library of Congress 7 of 52A beggar, perhaps disfigured during World War I, sits on the street (undated photo, early 1900s).Bain News Service/Library of Congress 8 of 52Street children sleeping, circa 1890.Jacob Riis/Wikimedia Commons 9 of 52An Italian immigrant’s shop on Mott Street circa 1912.Library of Congress 10 of 52Refuse piles up at the entrance to the tenements at 53 to 59 MacDougal Street, February 1912.
In the late 1800s and early 1900s, New York City’s trash problem reached epic proportions. In 1894, newly elected mayor William Strong knew he had to do something, and offered the job of sanitation commissioner to Teddy Roosevelt, who refused, essentially saying that it was an impossible job.Lewis Wickes Hine/Library of Congress 11 of 52Things got even worse during the garbage strike of November 8-11, 1908. Pictured: Crowds and police gather in the street during the strike.Bain News Service/Library of Congress 12 of 52The “White Wings” clean the streets, under police protection, during the garbage strike of November 8-11, 1908.
The “White Wings” took to the streets under the orders of pioneering sanitary engineer George Waring, whose efforts ameliorated but didn’t totally solve the city’s trash problem.Library of Congress 13 of 52Children play near a dead horse left to rot in the street, circa 1905.Wikimedia Commons 14 of 52Children gather in Mullen’s Alley in the Cherry Hill area of lower Manhattan, 1888.Jacob Riis/Wikimedia Commons 15 of 52A woman carries a bundle of clothing to be sewn at home near Astor Place, February 1912.
Poor immigrant workers often toiled for long hours and took their work home with them.Lewis Wickes Hine/Library of Congress 16 of 52A street peddler who’d slept in a basement at 11 Ludlow Street in the Lower East Side, 1899.Jacob Riis/Wikimedia Commons 17 of 52Two women and a man gather in front of outhouses at an unspecified location, circa 1902-1914.
Most turn-of-the-century New York City tenements didn’t have indoor plumbing.New York Tenement House Department/New York Public Library 18 of 52A food vendor sells his wares in the streets of the Lower East Side on February 24, 1917.Bain News Service/Library of Congress 19 of 52Dead bodies lie in an alley off Monroe Street following a nearby fire, December 1913.Library of Congress 20 of 52Men wait on the bread line in the Bowery on February 7, 1910.Library of Congress 21 of 52Jewish immigrants carry packages of matzo, April 1908.Bain News Service/Library of Congress 22 of 52The Municipal Lodging House for the homeless sits across the street from an abandoned lot on 25th Street, circa 1909-1920.
The house opened in February 1909 to help treat a citywide homelessness problem that saw as many as 600 new applicants looking for shelter each day.Library of Congress 23 of 52Men stand at a corner on Chinatown’s Pell Street, circa 1900.Byron/Library of Congress 24 of 52Crowds at Pitt and Rivington Streets in the Lower East Side, 1915.Underwood & Underwood/Library of Congress 25 of 52Street festival in Little Italy, 1908.Library of Congress 26 of 52Clothes line the railings of the tenements at 260 to 268 Elizabeth Street, March 1912.Lewis Wickes Hine/Library of Congress 27 of 52Street dweller, circa 1890.Jacob Riis/Wikimedia Commons 28 of 52Children wearing signs in English and Yiddish protest child labor conditions on May 1, 1909.
At the turn of the century, just about one-fifth of America’s workforce was under the age of 16 – and New York was no exception.Library of Congress 29 of 52Boys in Hell’s Kitchen demonstrate how they rob people who have passed out. Jacob Riis/Wikimedia Commons 30 of 52Children behind the tenements at 134 1/2 Thompson Street, February 1912.Lewis Wickes Hine/Library of Congress 31 of 52Two newspaper boys asleep in the press room of The Sun, 1892.
Working for the newspapers was one dependable way for young boys to earn some extra money for their families. However, their labor was often exploited and undervalued, leading to the infamous newsboys strike of 1899.Jacob Riis/Wikimedia Commons 32 of 52Chinatown storefront, circa 1903.Library of Congress 33 of 52Man killed by a bomb at an anarchist rally in Union Square on March 28, 1908.
In the face of a depressed economic climate and exploitative labor conditions, among other far-reaching factors, anarchism saw a wave of popularity in the U.S. in the late 1800s and early 1900s, with New York being no exception. Library of Congress 34 of 52107th Street just east of 3rd Avenue, February 1912.Lewis Wickes Hine/Library of Congress 35 of 52Street merchants in Little Italy (undated photo, most likely circa 1900-1920).Bain News Service/Library of Congress 36 of 52Children prepare to transport a load of kimonos on Thompson Street, February 1912.Lewis Wickes Hine/Library of Congress 37 of 52Hell’s Kitchen, just before 1890.Jacob Riis/Wikimedia Commons 38 of 52Impoverished populations in the Lower East Side, circa late 1800s.Jacob Riis/Wikimedia Commons 39 of 52Little Italy’s Mulberry Street, circa 1890.Jacob Riis/Wikimedia Commons 40 of 52The Bowery, February 1912.
The Bowery, a street and eponymous neighborhood running through what is now Manhattan’s East Village, was a notorious hotbed of crime, poverty, and taboo behaviors (prostitution and homosexuality among them) during the wave of immigration to New York City in the late 1800s and early 1900s.Lewis Wickes Hine/Library of Congress 41 of 5221-23 Pearl Street (undated photo, circa 1890-1919).Robert L. Bracklow Photograph Collection/New York Historical Society 42 of 52Stevedore working in the fish market of the Lower East Side, May-June 1943.Gordon Parks/Library of Congress 43 of 52A boy uses the curbside water pump at Trinity Place, just south of Cedar Street, 1902.
Public pumps like these allowed poorer people who didn’t have their own taps access to running water.Robert L. Bracklow Photograph Collection/New York Historical Society 44 of 52Street peddler in the Lower East Side (undated photo, circa late 1800s to early 1900s).New York Public Library 45 of 52Hester Street, between Allen and Orchard Streets in the Lower East Side, 1938.Berenice Abbott/New York Public Library 46 of 52A girl on the sidewalk in Little Italy, circa 1950s.Walter Silver American/New York Public Library 47 of 52Orchard Street in the Lower East Side, circa 1902-1914.New York Tenement House Department/New York Public Library 48 of 52Ten-year-old child waits to walk across Broadway at Leroy Street, February 1912.Lewis Wickes Hine/Library of Congress 49 of 52Rooftop pigeon coop at an unspecified location, circa 1934-1938.New York Tenement House Department/New York Public Library 50 of 52A young girl brings cloth “homework” back to her tenement to be sewn, circa 1912.Lewis Wickes Hine/New York Public Library 51 of 52Mulberry and Prince Streets, 1935.Berenice Abbott/New York Public Library 52 of 52Like this gallery?Share it:
Share
Like this gallery?Share it:
Share
And if you liked this post, be sure to check out these popular posts:
What Immigrant Life Looked Like In Early 20th Century America
Explore Singer Castle, New York’s Turn-Of-The-Century Palace Filled With Secret Passageways And A Dungeon
42 Photos Of People Around The World At The Turn Of The Century
Share
- Share
1 of 52"Bandit’s Roost," a notorious hangout for the criminal element at 59 Mulberry Street in Little Italy, 1888. At the time, the area was among the most impoverished and crime-ridden in the entire city.
This image comes from photographer and journalist Jacob Riis’ 1890 work How The Other Half Lives, which helped reveal the blight among New York’s immigrant neighborhoods.Jacob Riis/Wikimedia Commons 2 of 52Pike and Henry Streets in the Lower East Side, with the Manhattan Bridge looming in the background, 1936.Berenice Abbott/New York Public Library 3 of 52Beggar with his hand out (undated photo, circa 1900-1920).Bain News Service/Library of Congress 4 of 52Rivington Street in the Lower East Side, circa 1900-1915.Detroit Publishing Co./Library of Congress 5 of 52Children lick a massive block of ice to stay cool on July 6, 1912.Library of Congress 6 of 52An Italian immigrant carries a dry goods box down Bleecker Street, February 1912.Lewis Wickes Hine/Library of Congress 7 of 52A beggar, perhaps disfigured during World War I, sits on the street (undated photo, early 1900s).Bain News Service/Library of Congress 8 of 52Street children sleeping, circa 1890.Jacob Riis/Wikimedia Commons 9 of 52An Italian immigrant’s shop on Mott Street circa 1912.Library of Congress 10 of 52Refuse piles up at the entrance to the tenements at 53 to 59 MacDougal Street, February 1912.
In the late 1800s and early 1900s, New York City’s trash problem reached epic proportions. In 1894, newly elected mayor William Strong knew he had to do something, and offered the job of sanitation commissioner to Teddy Roosevelt, who refused, essentially saying that it was an impossible job.Lewis Wickes Hine/Library of Congress 11 of 52Things got even worse during the garbage strike of November 8-11, 1908. Pictured: Crowds and police gather in the street during the strike.Bain News Service/Library of Congress 12 of 52The “White Wings” clean the streets, under police protection, during the garbage strike of November 8-11, 1908.
The “White Wings” took to the streets under the orders of pioneering sanitary engineer George Waring, whose efforts ameliorated but didn’t totally solve the city’s trash problem.Library of Congress 13 of 52Children play near a dead horse left to rot in the street, circa 1905.Wikimedia Commons 14 of 52Children gather in Mullen’s Alley in the Cherry Hill area of lower Manhattan, 1888.Jacob Riis/Wikimedia Commons 15 of 52A woman carries a bundle of clothing to be sewn at home near Astor Place, February 1912.
Poor immigrant workers often toiled for long hours and took their work home with them.Lewis Wickes Hine/Library of Congress 16 of 52A street peddler who’d slept in a basement at 11 Ludlow Street in the Lower East Side, 1899.Jacob Riis/Wikimedia Commons 17 of 52Two women and a man gather in front of outhouses at an unspecified location, circa 1902-1914.
Most turn-of-the-century New York City tenements didn’t have indoor plumbing.New York Tenement House Department/New York Public Library 18 of 52A food vendor sells his wares in the streets of the Lower East Side on February 24, 1917.Bain News Service/Library of Congress 19 of 52Dead bodies lie in an alley off Monroe Street following a nearby fire, December 1913.Library of Congress 20 of 52Men wait on the bread line in the Bowery on February 7, 1910.Library of Congress 21 of 52Jewish immigrants carry packages of matzo, April 1908.Bain News Service/Library of Congress 22 of 52The Municipal Lodging House for the homeless sits across the street from an abandoned lot on 25th Street, circa 1909-1920.
The house opened in February 1909 to help treat a citywide homelessness problem that saw as many as 600 new applicants looking for shelter each day.Library of Congress 23 of 52Men stand at a corner on Chinatown’s Pell Street, circa 1900.Byron/Library of Congress 24 of 52Crowds at Pitt and Rivington Streets in the Lower East Side, 1915.Underwood & Underwood/Library of Congress 25 of 52Street festival in Little Italy, 1908.Library of Congress 26 of 52Clothes line the railings of the tenements at 260 to 268 Elizabeth Street, March 1912.Lewis Wickes Hine/Library of Congress 27 of 52Street dweller, circa 1890.Jacob Riis/Wikimedia Commons 28 of 52Children wearing signs in English and Yiddish protest child labor conditions on May 1, 1909.
At the turn of the century, just about one-fifth of America’s workforce was under the age of 16 – and New York was no exception.Library of Congress 29 of 52Boys in Hell’s Kitchen demonstrate how they rob people who have passed out. Jacob Riis/Wikimedia Commons 30 of 52Children behind the tenements at 134 1/2 Thompson Street, February 1912.Lewis Wickes Hine/Library of Congress 31 of 52Two newspaper boys asleep in the press room of The Sun, 1892.
Working for the newspapers was one dependable way for young boys to earn some extra money for their families. However, their labor was often exploited and undervalued, leading to the infamous newsboys strike of 1899.Jacob Riis/Wikimedia Commons 32 of 52Chinatown storefront, circa 1903.Library of Congress 33 of 52Man killed by a bomb at an anarchist rally in Union Square on March 28, 1908.
In the face of a depressed economic climate and exploitative labor conditions, among other far-reaching factors, anarchism saw a wave of popularity in the U.S. in the late 1800s and early 1900s, with New York being no exception. Library of Congress 34 of 52107th Street just east of 3rd Avenue, February 1912.Lewis Wickes Hine/Library of Congress 35 of 52Street merchants in Little Italy (undated photo, most likely circa 1900-1920).Bain News Service/Library of Congress 36 of 52Children prepare to transport a load of kimonos on Thompson Street, February 1912.Lewis Wickes Hine/Library of Congress 37 of 52Hell’s Kitchen, just before 1890.Jacob Riis/Wikimedia Commons 38 of 52Impoverished populations in the Lower East Side, circa late 1800s.Jacob Riis/Wikimedia Commons 39 of 52Little Italy’s Mulberry Street, circa 1890.Jacob Riis/Wikimedia Commons 40 of 52The Bowery, February 1912.
The Bowery, a street and eponymous neighborhood running through what is now Manhattan’s East Village, was a notorious hotbed of crime, poverty, and taboo behaviors (prostitution and homosexuality among them) during the wave of immigration to New York City in the late 1800s and early 1900s.Lewis Wickes Hine/Library of Congress 41 of 5221-23 Pearl Street (undated photo, circa 1890-1919).Robert L. Bracklow Photograph Collection/New York Historical Society 42 of 52Stevedore working in the fish market of the Lower East Side, May-June 1943.Gordon Parks/Library of Congress 43 of 52A boy uses the curbside water pump at Trinity Place, just south of Cedar Street, 1902.
Public pumps like these allowed poorer people who didn’t have their own taps access to running water.Robert L. Bracklow Photograph Collection/New York Historical Society 44 of 52Street peddler in the Lower East Side (undated photo, circa late 1800s to early 1900s).New York Public Library 45 of 52Hester Street, between Allen and Orchard Streets in the Lower East Side, 1938.Berenice Abbott/New York Public Library 46 of 52A girl on the sidewalk in Little Italy, circa 1950s.Walter Silver American/New York Public Library 47 of 52Orchard Street in the Lower East Side, circa 1902-1914.New York Tenement House Department/New York Public Library 48 of 52Ten-year-old child waits to walk across Broadway at Leroy Street, February 1912.Lewis Wickes Hine/Library of Congress 49 of 52Rooftop pigeon coop at an unspecified location, circa 1934-1938.New York Tenement House Department/New York Public Library 50 of 52A young girl brings cloth “homework” back to her tenement to be sewn, circa 1912.Lewis Wickes Hine/New York Public Library 51 of 52Mulberry and Prince Streets, 1935.Berenice Abbott/New York Public Library 52 of 52Like this gallery?Share it:
Share
1 of 52"Bandit’s Roost," a notorious hangout for the criminal element at 59 Mulberry Street in Little Italy, 1888. At the time, the area was among the most impoverished and crime-ridden in the entire city.
This image comes from photographer and journalist Jacob Riis’ 1890 work How The Other Half Lives, which helped reveal the blight among New York’s immigrant neighborhoods.Jacob Riis/Wikimedia Commons
2 of 52Pike and Henry Streets in the Lower East Side, with the Manhattan Bridge looming in the background, 1936.Berenice Abbott/New York Public Library
3 of 52Beggar with his hand out (undated photo, circa 1900-1920).Bain News Service/Library of Congress
4 of 52Rivington Street in the Lower East Side, circa 1900-1915.Detroit Publishing Co./Library of Congress
5 of 52Children lick a massive block of ice to stay cool on July 6, 1912.Library of Congress
6 of 52An Italian immigrant carries a dry goods box down Bleecker Street, February 1912.Lewis Wickes Hine/Library of Congress
7 of 52A beggar, perhaps disfigured during World War I, sits on the street (undated photo, early 1900s).Bain News Service/Library of Congress
8 of 52Street children sleeping, circa 1890.Jacob Riis/Wikimedia Commons
9 of 52An Italian immigrant’s shop on Mott Street circa 1912.Library of Congress
10 of 52Refuse piles up at the entrance to the tenements at 53 to 59 MacDougal Street, February 1912.
In the late 1800s and early 1900s, New York City’s trash problem reached epic proportions. In 1894, newly elected mayor William Strong knew he had to do something, and offered the job of sanitation commissioner to Teddy Roosevelt, who refused, essentially saying that it was an impossible job.Lewis Wickes Hine/Library of Congress
11 of 52Things got even worse during the garbage strike of November 8-11, 1908. Pictured: Crowds and police gather in the street during the strike.Bain News Service/Library of Congress
12 of 52The “White Wings” clean the streets, under police protection, during the garbage strike of November 8-11, 1908.
The “White Wings” took to the streets under the orders of pioneering sanitary engineer George Waring, whose efforts ameliorated but didn’t totally solve the city’s trash problem.Library of Congress
13 of 52Children play near a dead horse left to rot in the street, circa 1905.Wikimedia Commons
14 of 52Children gather in Mullen’s Alley in the Cherry Hill area of lower Manhattan, 1888.Jacob Riis/Wikimedia Commons
15 of 52A woman carries a bundle of clothing to be sewn at home near Astor Place, February 1912.
Poor immigrant workers often toiled for long hours and took their work home with them.Lewis Wickes Hine/Library of Congress
16 of 52A street peddler who’d slept in a basement at 11 Ludlow Street in the Lower East Side, 1899.Jacob Riis/Wikimedia Commons
17 of 52Two women and a man gather in front of outhouses at an unspecified location, circa 1902-1914.
Most turn-of-the-century New York City tenements didn’t have indoor plumbing.New York Tenement House Department/New York Public Library
18 of 52A food vendor sells his wares in the streets of the Lower East Side on February 24, 1917.Bain News Service/Library of Congress
19 of 52Dead bodies lie in an alley off Monroe Street following a nearby fire, December 1913.Library of Congress
20 of 52Men wait on the bread line in the Bowery on February 7, 1910.Library of Congress
21 of 52Jewish immigrants carry packages of matzo, April 1908.Bain News Service/Library of Congress
22 of 52The Municipal Lodging House for the homeless sits across the street from an abandoned lot on 25th Street, circa 1909-1920.
The house opened in February 1909 to help treat a citywide homelessness problem that saw as many as 600 new applicants looking for shelter each day.Library of Congress
23 of 52Men stand at a corner on Chinatown’s Pell Street, circa 1900.Byron/Library of Congress
24 of 52Crowds at Pitt and Rivington Streets in the Lower East Side, 1915.Underwood & Underwood/Library of Congress
25 of 52Street festival in Little Italy, 1908.Library of Congress
26 of 52Clothes line the railings of the tenements at 260 to 268 Elizabeth Street, March 1912.Lewis Wickes Hine/Library of Congress
27 of 52Street dweller, circa 1890.Jacob Riis/Wikimedia Commons
28 of 52Children wearing signs in English and Yiddish protest child labor conditions on May 1, 1909.
At the turn of the century, just about one-fifth of America’s workforce was under the age of 16 – and New York was no exception.Library of Congress
29 of 52Boys in Hell’s Kitchen demonstrate how they rob people who have passed out. Jacob Riis/Wikimedia Commons
30 of 52Children behind the tenements at 134 1/2 Thompson Street, February 1912.Lewis Wickes Hine/Library of Congress
31 of 52Two newspaper boys asleep in the press room of The Sun, 1892.
Working for the newspapers was one dependable way for young boys to earn some extra money for their families. However, their labor was often exploited and undervalued, leading to the infamous newsboys strike of 1899.Jacob Riis/Wikimedia Commons
32 of 52Chinatown storefront, circa 1903.Library of Congress
33 of 52Man killed by a bomb at an anarchist rally in Union Square on March 28, 1908.
In the face of a depressed economic climate and exploitative labor conditions, among other far-reaching factors, anarchism saw a wave of popularity in the U.S. in the late 1800s and early 1900s, with New York being no exception. Library of Congress
34 of 52107th Street just east of 3rd Avenue, February 1912.Lewis Wickes Hine/Library of Congress
35 of 52Street merchants in Little Italy (undated photo, most likely circa 1900-1920).Bain News Service/Library of Congress
36 of 52Children prepare to transport a load of kimonos on Thompson Street, February 1912.Lewis Wickes Hine/Library of Congress
37 of 52Hell’s Kitchen, just before 1890.Jacob Riis/Wikimedia Commons
38 of 52Impoverished populations in the Lower East Side, circa late 1800s.Jacob Riis/Wikimedia Commons
39 of 52Little Italy’s Mulberry Street, circa 1890.Jacob Riis/Wikimedia Commons
40 of 52The Bowery, February 1912.
The Bowery, a street and eponymous neighborhood running through what is now Manhattan’s East Village, was a notorious hotbed of crime, poverty, and taboo behaviors (prostitution and homosexuality among them) during the wave of immigration to New York City in the late 1800s and early 1900s.Lewis Wickes Hine/Library of Congress
41 of 5221-23 Pearl Street (undated photo, circa 1890-1919).Robert L. Bracklow Photograph Collection/New York Historical Society
42 of 52Stevedore working in the fish market of the Lower East Side, May-June 1943.Gordon Parks/Library of Congress
43 of 52A boy uses the curbside water pump at Trinity Place, just south of Cedar Street, 1902.
Public pumps like these allowed poorer people who didn’t have their own taps access to running water.Robert L. Bracklow Photograph Collection/New York Historical Society
44 of 52Street peddler in the Lower East Side (undated photo, circa late 1800s to early 1900s).New York Public Library
45 of 52Hester Street, between Allen and Orchard Streets in the Lower East Side, 1938.Berenice Abbott/New York Public Library
46 of 52A girl on the sidewalk in Little Italy, circa 1950s.Walter Silver American/New York Public Library
47 of 52Orchard Street in the Lower East Side, circa 1902-1914.New York Tenement House Department/New York Public Library
48 of 52Ten-year-old child waits to walk across Broadway at Leroy Street, February 1912.Lewis Wickes Hine/Library of Congress
49 of 52Rooftop pigeon coop at an unspecified location, circa 1934-1938.New York Tenement House Department/New York Public Library
50 of 52A young girl brings cloth “homework” back to her tenement to be sewn, circa 1912.Lewis Wickes Hine/New York Public Library
51 of 52Mulberry and Prince Streets, 1935.Berenice Abbott/New York Public Library
52 of 52Like this gallery?Share it:
Share
Inside Turn-Of-The-Century New York’s Immigrant Slums View Gallery
Inside Turn-Of-The-Century New York’s Immigrant Slums View Gallery
Inside Turn-Of-The-Century New York’s Immigrant Slums View Gallery
Inside Turn-Of-The-Century New York’s Immigrant Slums View Gallery
Inside Turn-Of-The-Century New York’s Immigrant Slums
View Gallery
Between 1900 and 1914, an average of well over half a million immigrants – largely from central, eastern, and southern Europe – came through New York each year (that’s more than 5,000 per day). Today, nearly 40 percent of the U.S. population can trace at least one of their ancestors back to the immigrants who came through that one station during that short span.
While millions of those immigrants promptly boarded trains for points all across the U.S., hundreds of thousands stayed put in New York City. In 1900, New York already had nearly 1.3 million foreign-born residents. By 1920, that number had reached 2 million, which was more than one-third of the city’s total population.
And an enormous number of those immigrants took up residence in just a few of the city’s neighborhoods. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, one particular cluster of neighborhoods in lower Manhattan including Chinatown, Little Italy, and the Lower East Side swelled beyond capacity as immigrants came pouring in.
Because these neighborhoods quickly grew so far beyond their limits, the immigrant experience itself pushed its way out of the overcrowded tenements and onto the streets. Indeed, it was out in the streets where so many of New York’s turn-of-the-century immigrants lived, worked, and scraped by.
Likewise, it was in the streets that the cultures and identities of these immigrant groups adapted to their new home. From anguished poverty to vibrant culture, the street scenes above capture the full breadth of the immigrant experience in turn-of-the-century New York.
Next, have a look at 35 Ellis Island immigrant portraits that reveal the faces of American diversity. Then, take a photographic journey inside New York’s turn-of-the-century tenements.
