New York City’s historic tenement buildings are famous for their small layouts, narrow air shafts, and dense immigrant populations. But one unusual feature occasionally found in older apartments, especially in neighborhoods like the Lower East Side and East Village, is the bathtub in the kitchen. In fact, The New York Times was just recently invited into musician Richard Hell’s East Village apartment that HAS a bathtub in the kitchen.
While this may seem strange today, it was actually the result of housing reforms, plumbing limitations, and evolving sanitation laws during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
What Were Tenement Buildings?
Tenement buildings were multi-family apartment houses built to accommodate New York City’s rapidly growing immigrant population in the mid-1800s. These buildings were often constructed quickly and cheaply, resulting in cramped apartments and minimal sanitation infrastructure.
One well-known example is the building at 97 Orchard Street on the Lower East Side, which housed approximately 7,000 residents over a 70-year period beginning in 1863. Now, you can find fancy units in the area for a limited number or renters or buyers that reach above $3 million…