Sunday Steve - Day 13.5: What Did a Tenement Look Like?
As a follow up to my tenement building post, I've done my best to find a collection of photos to show what apartments Steve lived in could have looked like. As I mentioned in my earlier Sunday Steve post, a lot of tenement pictures were taken specifically because of the poor conditions, so I tried to find pictures that would show a side of tenements we might not usually see.
Tenement playground, circa 1900-1937 (Link)
Contemporary photos
Interior stairwell, 1937. (Link)
Look at the wallpaper! Also I can just imagine children playing in that nook there, using it like a fort or something.
Interior between 1900 and 1910. (Link)
Look at all the pictures on the walls, the patterned and no doubt colourful table cloth and the decorative elements of the stove! This apartment looks like it has a gas stove and lights.
(part of me does wonder if this photo was staged to some extent, perhaps to advertise the new laws going in (?), but that's only a theory.)
Kitchen interior with sink and icebox, 1935. (Link)
You can see the draped curtains, the mirror above the sink and the cloth on top of the fridge. The shelf with all the jars has been recovered with a decorative trim and the floor is patterned linoleum.
Family at kitchen table in a dumb-bell tenement, circa 1935. Note the angled kitchen window by the stove looking into an air shaft. (Link)
(The Barnes family anyone?) Again, patterned, clean floors, a gas stove, what may be a folded up bed in the left-hand upper corner. Five toothbrushes above the sink, a mirror above the shelf, the trim on the shelf itself. I think the dark thing next to the boxes in the lower right-hand corner might be a toy pram.
Interior view of dressing table and toilet, 1936. (Link)
Typical small toilet, probably built after the New Law required them. Note the pretty framed photo of religious figures on top of the dressing table, what I think is an electric curling iron next to it, and the sculpting details of the wall pillar.
Reconstruction
But black and white photos don't give us a full idea of what things would be like. Luckily, there is Tenement Museum in Manhattan that has 1910 and 1930 Old Law restored tenement apartments.
Outside of museum and stairs leading up. (Link)
This tenement is 5 floors, which is standard for Old Law. New Law tenements were often higher. The tenement, like many tenements, had a store front on the street level.
If you look carefully you can see the tin-plated ceilings. Note how you can see a painting on the wall across from the stairs. In the tour they discuss how these were people's homes and they decorated them and were proud of them too.
Images of a 1910 style apartment. (Link) (Link)
These tenements are 3 rooms, bedroom, kitchen and parlour. Note the bed in the kitchen where Steve could've slept. This could also be a place for a crib for a baby. These apartments have shared toilets in the halls that were for two families.
Also look at the green and red walls! So much colour! And the pictures hung on the walls! There's a rug on the floor, doilies and a cushion on the couch, a patterned curtain behind the door... I wanted to highlight the homeyness.
Kitchen of 1930s style apartment. (Link) (Link)
With these photos you can see the three rooms of this tenement. A small bedroom by the front door, a kitchen and a living room past it. The apartments for this building were electrified in 1924, so they have lights, and a radio and an electric fan in the living room.
The apartment had coin operated gas, which could be the black box on the wall by the front door. The gas also connects to a water heater for this apartment which can't really be seen, but it is connected to the stove.
The built in shelves by the table was custom built by the father of the family living here. Residents often painted or wallpapered their space when moving in to make it their own. According to the Tenement Museum, linoleum flooring was really common, and you can see how this apartment has linoleum designed to look like a rug.
Living room and bedroom of the same 1930 apartment. (Link) (Link)
The living room isn't very staged, I'm not sure why since I haven't taken the tour. There is a disassembled bed frame against the left wall, so it's possible a bed is usually set up in this room for the parents. Also the former resident of the apartment said it was sparsely furnished, so they may be trying to recreate that.
The ice box for this family is kept on the fire escape, which is not shown.
In the window of the living room you can see green plants. These are morning glories the father planted in re-purposed cheese boxes. According to the former resident, they got the cheese through welfare aid, and cheese always seemed to be in surplus from that program. The apartment has electricity and there is an electric fan on on the dresser with the mirror.
The second photo shows the bedroom, which is that angled room next to the front door in the kitchen. The red cloth covered thing in is a bed that was shared by two siblings and folded up and covered every day.
Look at all the colour! The patterned linoleum floors! The climbing flowers in the living room window! The radio in the nook by the kitchen table! These places were not dreary and brown just because they were old or cheap.
Recollections from the previous resident:
Rosaria [her mother] decorated the apartment by draping fabrics everywhere: lacy curtains at the windows, coverlets in the beds, skirts across the shelving that Adolfo [her father] built into the walls. The family kept birds as pets. They cultivated flowers; morning glories twined at the window. The radio played, day and night, as they laughed with Amos and Andy, hummed along with Fred Waring and his Pennsylvanians, and followed the puzzling, upper-middle-class lives of One Man's Family. (Link)
Also, when the previous resident came back to see the tenement museum of her childhood apartment, she noted that the place was messier than her mother ever kept it, so they fixed that. Tenements could be very clean and well kept, especially since cleanliness and health were something people judged.
I really wanted to show that while small and cheap, Steve’s apartments would have still been full of life and colour.
Tenement Museum hall toilet, circa 1904-1935 (Link)
I don't know what time period the museum has this toilet as, but you can see how small it was, and also that it has bright yellow walls!
This toilet has a leaflet of papers on the back wall, probably for toilet paper. As my toilet paper post discussed, toilet paper became more common with indoor plumbing due to clogged pipes and such, so I imagine this is early 1900s. I'm fairly certain Steve would be used to using toilet paper!
What's with all the indoor windows?
A lot of Old Law tenements have windows leading from one room to another. These are for airflow and light. They are also a sneaky way the landlords tried to get around the law that every room had to have a window. The New Law later required the windows to actually have access outside.
These windows are also known as tuberculosis windows. While they may have been a cop-out by landlords, they were still intended to improve airflow and light in narrow tenements which would otherwise have only one outward facing window.
I hope this overview gave you a broader understanding of what tenements could look like and some appreciation of the ways people brightened up their homes.
Many more tenement pictures found here:
The influence of the New York City tenement is layered upon the city much like the apartments themselves are layered atop each other.
This link has a lot more interior shots, but also some with homicide victims (!), so approach at your own risk.
This link has more images of the Tenement Museum, showing other bedrooms from different eras and different tenement rooms. While some are styled as late 1890s era apartments, they still reflect what rooms and life would and could have looked like.
I miss Sunday Steve. :< I hereby sacrifice this fanart to RNGesus in hopes of bringing him back!
...I just realized it looks like he’s calling the carrot low-rent. He’s supposed to be gesturing with it, but y’know what? He’d totally diss a carrot’s rendering so why not!
Things that would be new or unfamiliar to Steve in the 21st century, either due to the time period he grew up in, or his social-economic status and other such factors.
Day One: Ball Point Pen
László Bíró first sold the ballpoint pen in 1938, just before the onset of WWII
The history of the ball point pen is actually really interesting and I spent a lot of time digging through articles trying to decide if Steve would have used them.
See, ball point pens were technically invented right before World War Two (there's a complicated history of just who invented it first, but the one that caught on and began to be used in the states was invented by a Jewish refugee in the 1938s.)
László Bíró was able to get a contract with the British RAF to supply ball point pens to pilots. These pens worked better in cramped spaces and at high altitudes than fountain pens.
But outside of military use, the ball point pen did not catch on in America until the The Reynolds Rocket first sold for 12.50 each ($214 in today's money).
It may be possible that Steve had encountered a ball point pen before, given that Howard is an inventor and a pilot, he could have learned of them through him.
But there is a very high chance that Steve never used a ballpoint pen before going into the ice, and he may have never even seen one before. (As for retractable 'clicky' pens? Not invented till the 50s.)
Discover the history of the ballpoint pen and learn about who invented the ballpoint pen. Unveil the genius behind this iconic writing tool.
Things that would be new or unfamiliar to Steve in the 21st century, either due to the time period he grew up in, or his social-economic status and other such factors.
Day Three: Yogurt
Yogurt has been enjoyed by cultures around the world (pun intended) for thousands of years. Whether you like it as a breakfast staple, a sna
Although yogurt has a long history, it is possible Steve didn't eat much of it. At least not in the typical format we expect.
Yogurt was introduced to America in the 1900s and was available in tablet form for "those with digestive intolerance and for home culturing". (Link) (John Kellogg used it for enemas too.)
In New England, the main consumers in the 1930s were Near Eastern immigrants. The first yogurt factory to open in the States was in 1942. Yogurt was popularized in the 50s as a health food and sold in pharmacies.
But was still too sour for most people. This is when added fruit preserves became more common place and yogurt became a common American food in the late 20th century (around the 70s).
If Steve ever did try yogurt (maybe for health reasons) he probably didn't like it because "During the 1920s and 1930s, yogurt milk was described as having poor flavor because of its high acidity". It would have also probably been thinner than the thick 'greek' yogurt we are used to.
But most likely Steve never ate, possibly never even heard of yogurt. They did eat it more in Europe so he could have heard of it there during the war.
The history of the last 100 years of the science and technology of yogurt, sour cream, cultured butter, cultured buttermilk, kefir, and acid
Things that would be new or unfamiliar to Steve in the 21st century, either due to the time period he grew up in, or his social-economic status and other such factors.
Day Ten: Laundry — Washer and Dryers
Washing Machine
1920s ad for a Thor brand washing machine. One of the first electric washing machines. Note the exposed motor underneath that could shock users when wet. (Imagine Steve associating Thor with washing machines 😆).
Laundry machines have a long history. The first washing machines were invented in the late 1800s. There were mechanical, hand powered machines, consisting of drums full of water and handles to agitate the laundry and turn the rollers to squeeze water from washed clothes.
However, these devices were most common in middle class families. Poor families who could not afford the machines and rich families who did not have to worry about the labour of laundry likely did not have these machines.
Laundry was a laborious task and families who could afford it had hired help to do their laundry or they sent out their laundry to be cleaned and returned.
Here is an account of laundry days in the 1920s for a family who had a scullery. They used a 'washing copper' tub that was built into the floor and had a space for a fire underneath. It is interesting how it describes typical washing without a washing machine, but Steve and Sarah likely lived in a tenement apartment building and did not have these facilities available to them.
We will get into what Sarah probably did when Steve was growing up. But one last laundry innovation to talk about in the 20s was the electric washer. The first electrical washer appeared in the US before the first World War thanks to the invention of the small electric motor (Link).
This blog page gives a good overview of how a domestic electric washing machine worked in 1927. The metal drum was manually filled with water (if you didn't have a hose, lifting and pouring water into the drum was your fate). Pre-prepared soap was added then pre-soaked clothes could be washed. The machines could handle about ten pounds, so clothes had to be regularly transferred in and out. After the wash, clothes were wrung out and put in scalding rinse water to remove soap. Clothes were then wrung out again (maybe rinsed a few more times), starched, and hung to dry. Some families had heated dryer cupboards to hang their clothes.
Domestic washing machines inside the home were not common before the 50s. They were growing in popularity in the 30s, but I doubt Steve every used any type of washing machine in his own home. Depending on how well off you feel the Barneses were they may have had one, but I still feel this wasn't very likely.
In 1920 only 8% of US families owned a washing machine. And by 1941 "only 52% of U.S. families owned or had interior access to an electric washing machine—almost half of families were still hand rubbing or hand cranking laundry or using commercial services" (Link).
Tenement Laundry Days
Reproduction of 1928-1935 tenement house.
Reproduction of 1890s era tenement apartment.
Wash days were usually on Monday. Sarah probably did these steps: Soaking the laundry, scrubbing, boiling, wringing, rinsing, wringing agin, and finally, hanging to dry. (Link)
In the second picture above a scrub board can be seen in the deep sink. The sink was likely used for soaking, scrubbing and rinsing. Scrub boards were used well into the 20th century.
While indoor plumping for tenements was becoming common in the 20s (especially for toilets), if they didn't have running water Sarah would have to trek up and down flights of stairs to fill her tub from the tap in the yard. (Link) This would most likely only be the case if Steve and Sarah lived in a pre-1905 tenement building as laws about tenements changed around that time. However, many tenements were cold water flats, so water would be boiled on the stove.
In the picture above you can see a large oblong metal tub on the stove. This is likely what was used for boiling.
After soaking (usually started Sunday night) clothes that were still soiled would be scrubbed, then the laundry was boiled. Clothes were boiled in water for an hour and stirred with a rod or wooden stick. They would then be removed with a fork or a rod, wrung out, rinsed (to remove soap) and wrung out again.
If Sarah (or Winifred) was able to afford it she may have a mangle to squeeze the water from washed clothes ($5.95-8.00 for a basic one in 1920). These two wooden rollers were dangerous because women could get their fingers or hair caught in them. They also sometimes damaged or broke off buttons. If she didn't have one, she'd wring them out by hand.
The spin cycle was developed to wring out clothes, and some electric washers had this feature going into the 30s. (Link)
Once wrung out, the clothes were hung to dry. In the winter clothes could be hung in front of the fireplace or stove (on a clothes horse for those who had one) if there was space, but they could also be hung outside to freeze and brought in before nightfall.
Tenement buildings commonly had clotheslines strung between buildings. "The advantage of living on a low floor (with fewer flights of stairs to climb) became a disadvantage on wash day, because when hanging your laundry out to dry, ‘someone else might put out a red wash or a blue wash over it, and it drips down and makes you do your wash all over again." (Link)
Berenice Abbott (1898-1991). Court of the First Model Tenements in New York City. March 16, 1936. Museum of the City of New York. (Link, many other examples of tenement clotheslines here. I think this is multiple days of laundry lines in one picture).
Abbott documented this space as a communal laundry line: ropes with pulleys led from apartments to five-story poles imbedded in concrete. Abbott made two exposures, with the laundry and poles forming different abstract configurations. She later recalled that winter day the laundry frozen stiff and the children huddled together, too cold to move.
If you didn't have a clothesline near your window you could dry your clothes on the roof. This required climbing more stairs and keeping an eye out for thieves. (Link)
Tuesdays were ironing days. There were electric irons in the 20s but people also still used multiple irons that had to be heated on the stove. Clothes needed to be damp and sprinkled with water while ironing. That is until steam irons were introduced in the 30s. (Link)
However:
What did Steve do after Sarah died? The same thing the Rogers would have done if Sarah had no time to do laundry, which is likely because she worked full time and laundry was an long chore. If Sarah did do her own laundry as well as worked, she would have worked very long hours trying to stay on top of everything.
For those who couldn't do laundry they would send out their laundry. The peak of the commercial laundry industry was in the 1920s. Many laundries were owned by Chinese immigrants and these laundries catered to single men. (Link) These laundries were cheaper than white-owned steam laundries, which generally catered to large institutions like hotels and hospitals, although they advertised to women as well. Here is a picture of a large commercial laundry.
Sending out laundry may have been a necessary expense on Sarah and Steve's part that they had to budget for. This recounting of a Chinese laundry has the clothes dried and ironed by the workers.
Women, especially black women, took laundry into their home. It is possible Sarah and Steve sent out their laundry to washerwomen, perhaps even one who lived in their own tenement. (Link)
If Sarah did not have the time, nor could afford to send out laundry (especially in the 30s), Steve may have had to deal with the shame of going to school in dirty clothes. Cleanliness was a point of pride and I'm certain Sarah would have made every effort to keep him clean but it may not have always been possible.
Laundry soap
Here is what was most typically used as laundry soap. It was also common, especially for rural families, to make their own soap out of lye and grate or cut up that as laundry soap. (Link)
(Link) Laundry soap options in 1927. They included purchasing flakes, chips, or powder; liquifying your soap ahead of time (right); and (left) grating your own laundry soap from a bar. Fels Naptha soap, which came in a big bar, was rubbed on difficult stains and rings around the collar.
Laundromats
The first laundromat or 'washateria' was opened in Texas in 1934. (Link) Laundromats grew in popularity and spread across the country. These early laundromats had rentable electric washing machines like the ones already mentioned in this post. Clothes were taken home damp to be ironed.
In the 40s the name laundromat became common to describe self-serve laundry. This name actually comes from a brand of automatic washing machine. (Link) Laundromats helps familiarize consumers with washing machines and grow their trust in them, thus ushering in the domestic washing machine age in the 50s and 60s and the decline of commercial laundry services.
Steve may have used a washateria or laundromat in the late 30s or early 40s but the machines would be different. They may have looked something like this:
Toploading washing machine bought in 1939 (Link) It has a motorized mangle.
This blog also has many 1940s ads to show other styles of washing machines. I think our modern washings machines would be somewhat recognizable if Steve saw these ads, but in general washing machines now look very different from the ones he probably saw.
Dryers
If one didn't hang their clothes to dry they were probably wealthy enough to have air dryers which became available in the early 1920s. These were rooms or cupboards. "These dryers could be powered by electricity, gas, or kerosene. In a good dryer, heated air circulated around the clothing so that the clothes did not bake and yellow. The hot air was pulled out of the cabinet and up a chimney" (Link).
Richer folks could also have their clothes dry in sunlit or steam-heated rooms at the top of their mansion or townhouse. (Link).
A sailor getting a uniform out of a clothes dryer in 1943 (link)
The first electric dryer was manufactured in 1938. (Link) Here's a picture of a 1940s dryer, it looks a bit like an oven.
Automatic dryers were slower to arrive. Launderettes had dryers after the war and this helped facilitate the arrival of dryers in the home.
Before dryers became common in laundromats clothes were taken back damp and ironed. This was more or less ideal anyways since clothes needed to be damp to be ironed if you didn't have a steam iron (which was still a luxury).
Dryers would be very new or completely foreign for Steve. I doubt he used one.
Army Laundry Days
This post is already long (I know), so quick coverage of what I found here.
Army training camps had laundries. The army developed laundry trucks (Quarter Master Laundry Units) to service medical units and troops in the field.
When the trucks couldn't keep up with the front (although they did their best) soldiers made arrangements with local laundries or cleaned their clothes themselves.
Clothing exchange was sometime done instead of cleaning and returning the same clothes to speed up the process. This was done most often with front line troops, often in conjunction with showers.
Steve specialised uniform (really, all of the commandos' uniforms) would probably complicate this process which is really interesting to think about. This wash trucks wouldn't be able to just bring standard uniforms to switch out since they were all wearing different uniforms from different armies. If it could be arranged beforehand they might be able to bring a new uniform for Steve, but I wonder if he wore regular fatigues most of the time and only switched into his Captain America suit during active missions to make things easier.
The mobile laundries also organized clothing repair.
This post got really long! I didn't get into the detailed steps of laundry before modern technologies really took off. But needless to say there's still a lot that could be said.
I have a housekeeping book from 1952 that goes into detail how to wash clothes. If anyone is interested in a post about that, you can let me know. I also have a catalogue reproduction showing laundry machines and prices from the early 20th century if anyone is interested,
Things that would be new or unfamiliar to Steve in the 21st century, either due to the time period he grew up in, or his social-economic status and other such factors.
Day Eight: Shampoo and Conditioner
The History of Shampoo The history of what we call shampoo is a story that reaches back less than a century, but the origin of washing our h
Shampoo: The origins of the word shampoo comes from an Indian hair and body massage called champooi/champo.
In the late 1800s and early 1900s shampoo was a water soluble, dry shampoo powder that would be dissolved by the teaspoon in a cup of hot water (Link). Shampoo could also come as bars of soap, which could lather or be grated and dissolved into boiling water and left to cool and solidify.
A 1908 New York Times shampoo guide claims "hair is best shampooed at night, following thorough combing and brushing, and singeing split ends. Castile soap is applied with a stiff brush and rinsed four times every month to six weeks." (Link)
Bathing had become more and more common as part of the hygiene routine in the early 1900s, but shampooing was generally recommended every two weeks—or every four to six weeks (preferably using castile soap or tar soap) because shampoo was known for drying out and damaging hair. (Link)
While at-home shampooing was slowly becoming more common, it was more common—for those who could afford it—to get it commercially done. Most shampoo ads were targeted towards women, but men in barbershops "transitioned from using hair tonics to using shampoos to remove the build-up of heavy styling products" (Link).
The liquid shampoo first really started hitting the market in 1927. So by the 30s at-home shampooing became even more common. This is due to a combination of most Americans have in-house plumbing, their own bathrooms, and the shampoo formulas becoming less harsh and drying. The combination of all this meant one could wash their hair every week. (Link) (Every day shampooing began to be marketed in the 70s since oily hairstyles were out of fashion.)
Liquid shampoos were sold in glass bottles, while powdered shampoos came in tins.
Bottles of shampoo and lotions manufactured in the early 20th century by the C.L. Hamilton Co. of Washington, D.C., United States
It wasn't until 1934 that detergent-based (no-soap, modern) shampoos came onto the market (Link).
Sarah Rogers likely wouldn't have been able to afford to get her hair shampooed, but she could have made her own shampoo from castile soap bars (example youtube video) or bought shampoo powders which were then dissolved in water.
She would only wash her hair every few weeks, most likely brushing her hair and keeping it up in styles in-between washes. (Link) Using a clean brush to brush ones hair helped remove and evenly distribute oils.
In 1933 shampoo cost about 25-50 cents. (Link) (Link) I haven't dug deep to know exactly what kind of things Steve and Sarah would be able to afford. But it wouldn't surprise me if there were times they could and couldn't afford hair care products.
As for if Steve would shampoo his hair, he probably just used soap. Shampoo had soap in it until 1933 (which was why it was so drying) (Link). But men could afford to use soap on their hair since they usually had shorter hair and their natural head oils could help mitigate the damage.
I can find less information about men's hair routines if they couldn't afford to go to barbershops, so I'm less certain of what Steve would do. But 20s, 30s, and 40s men's hair styles had a lot of oil or greasy styling products. While these would need to be washed out for re-styling (probably weekly like women) the oil products would help against drying out the hair.
Men also always wore hats. Having stiff or slick-down hair was important so that hair styles wouldn't be ruined by putting on and removing hats. Hair oils would stain hats, chairs and other things heads came in contact with.
Circa 1920 Glostora hair oil and brush ad and Hair Slik ad
Don't be fooled by the ad. This vintage bottle of Glostora is 5 inches or 12.5 cm tall. It would be put on after shampooing, like conditioner.
In the Captain America: The First Avenger movie we can see that Steve's hair isn't slicked back. This could just be a modern day styling choice, but it could also show that Steve did not care about styling his hair.
Cleanliness was was important so he probably washed his hair every few weeks with soap and bathed regularly. But it doesn't look like he put heavy product in his hair. (Unlike Bucky, who probably had more reason to shampoo his hair. It wouldn't surprise me if Bucky went to the barbershop when he could afford it.)
Steve probably couldn't afford to do more to his hair than wash it with soap every few weeks. He likely made his own shampoo with castile or tar soap. This method makes more shampoo than the bottles of liquid shampoo being sold.
Conditioner: Conditioners originated from a product called brilliantine (developed in 1900) which was used to soften beards and moustaches. This product would be put on after styling in barbershops to make the hair shine and soften it. (Glostora and Hair Slik are similar products.) (Link)
"It was oil based, giving off a slimy residue to anything it touched. Homemakers knit lace doilies to cover the backs of high back chairs and couches to protect the furniture from men’s greasy heads" (Link)
Other items used similar to conditioners were hair tonics, or Wildwood Cream.
Conditioner became a necessity because of shampoo, as it is drying to the hair. So it wasn't used much until shampooing became more common (oil has a long history of being used to tame hair, but commercial conditioner products became more common along with shampoo use.) (Link)
Women caught on to these types of commercial products. I've had a hard time finding specific conditioner products from the 30s. Here is a hair care routine for women circa 1930 that mentions brillientine, so it looks like women began using brillientine as well before more specific conditioning products were developed.
There seemed to be more conditioner products developed by the 40s. Here's a conditioning cream from around the 40s, and a different one with a price (about 39¢).
1942 Drene Shampoo Hair Conditioner Vintage Print Ad
(Drene was the first modern synthetic (no soap) shampoo and you can see in the side panel of this ad they say "Don't rob your hair of its glamour by using soap or liquid soap shampoo—which always leave behind a dulling film that dims the natural lustre and color brilliance!")
Wrap up
Modern day hair routines would be recognisable but still somewhat unfamiliar to Steve. This is partially because men's hairstyles have changed drastically from the slick-back styles he is used to. Hats have also gone out of style.
Also, it is common now in America to wash one's hair around three times a week. This shift came about with the change in hair styles. Woman leaving hair down and covering it less necessitates the need to shampoo and condition it more. (Women shampooed their hair once a week in salons up to the 60s).
The products are also slightly different. Liquid shampoo is the dominate form now (I doubt Steve ever bought liquid shampoo) and they come in plastic bottles. The liquid shampoo is likely a much different formula than he's used to. Additionally, conditioning is a very specific step in the process and hair product ingredients have evolved.
There are also combination products like 2-1 shampoo and conditioner which came about in the late 1980s.
Along with the cultural changes, Steve's socioeconomic status would effect his perception of hair-care routines and buying hair products.
With modern (no soap) products, Steve's hair is probably softer and shinier. Steve would have been aware of no soap products, but I don't think he would have bought them. However, he could have had these products used on him during his USO tour. Interacting with the women there probably introduced him to many products he was less familiar with.
by Rachel Dworkin, archivist Most people have a pretty good idea of what a 1920s-era flapper looked like, but do you know how a fashionab
Men's hairstyling in the 1920s.
This post kind of got away from me! But I hope you enjoyed my deep dive into 20th century hair care.
Day One: Ball Point Pen
Day Two: Vaccines
Day Three: Yogurt
Day Four: Seat Belt
Day Five: Toothbrushes
Day Six: Toothpaste and Floss
D
Things that would be new or unfamiliar to Steve in the 21st century, either due to the time period he grew up in, or his social-economic status and other such factors.
Day Thirteen: Tenement Building
My grandchildren sometimes ask me what it was like to grow up poor in Boston. I don’t know where to begin to describe what it was like livin
Alright, so Steve grew up in a tenement building. What does that mean? Tenement buildings are buildings shared by multiple dwellings with a shared entrance. Basically apartment buildings. But what were the conditions like for Steve? I think it's common knowledge that tenement buildings were not considered the best housing. But that doesn't mean Steve lived in a Dickensian slum.
The History
In the late 1800s, tenement living conditions were really becoming a problem, and people started to call for reform. Tenements built in this period are known as "Pre-Law".
In 1879, due to these pushes for reform there was a law passed known as the "Old Law". This mandated certain things like airshafts for tenement buildings, leading to "dumbbell" shaped buildings. This allowed more light and air into tenement buildings but also became places for garbage to pile up.
First photo: tenement floorplans as per various regulations (Link)
Second photo: Airshaft of a 'dumbbell' tenement building, circa 1900. (Link)
In 1901 a law knows as the "New Law" was passed. This law was much stricter and more enforced. Major things it implemented were running water, water-closets and a window in every room. Airshafts were done away with, instead tenements were designed around courtyards where garbage could properly be disposed of.
Pre-Law and Old Law tenements still existed but some things had to updated to comply with the new rules. This link goes into really good detail the kinds of changes landlords were required to make under the New Law.
Steve and Sarah's life in tenement buildings would be different depending on if they were living in an 'Old Law' (I'm just going to always use Old law now and not Pre-law for simplicity) or 'New Law' tenement.
The New Law effectively banned new dumbbell style tenements from being built, due to its new space and airshaft requirements. Old Law tenements were typically built on 25 foot wide lots while New Law tenements "resulted in much larger tenements designed around one or more interior light courts. they typically occupied lots 35 feet wide or greater, and were often six or seven stories tall, sometimes above a raised basement" (Link).
So New Law tenement lots were bigger due to the courtyard, often with more floors than Old Law tenements. An Old Law tenement was typically no more than five floors.
If Steve lived in an Old Law tenement it would be a different size and design than New Law builds, but would have been required to update some things like plumbing and toilets to comply with the New Law.
In 1929 New York passed it's Multiple Dwelling Law, which is still what it uses today. I don't cover it much because Steve likely still lived in pre-1929 tenements and from my skimming of the law it looks as though pre-1929 tenements were mostly exempt from a lot of the specific new regulations. (Article 7 if you're interested.)
In the 30s, Old Law tenement buildings began to be condemned as the city focused on 'slum-clearing' and tenants were forced to find other lodgings. This was also the case for tenements where landlords did not want to renovate to make the necessary New Law changes. If Steve and Sarah lived in an Old Law tenement around this time they could have been evicted (Link). (I think in the comics Sarah dies in 1937-ish, so this would have also added a lot of stress to that difficult time.)
By 1936, New York introduced its first public housing program. But it was in Manhattan, so it's probably safe to say Steve didn't experience that. He likely continued to live in the cheapest tenements or cold water flats he could find. Which would no doubt mean Old Law flats, likely with a roommate of some kind to share the cost. Although one-bedroom dwellings did also exist.
Tenement Amenities
Water plumbing: Old law tenements often has a water tap in the yard or hall instead of running water in the flat, and privies in the yard instead of indoor toilets. But by 1904 “landlords were required to install toilets in buildings” (Link). For renovated Old Law tenements, this would usually just be a toilet in a little room, not a shower and bath.
While the New Law required indoor plumbing Steve probably didn’t have regular hot water. Steam and hot water flats definitely did exits, but they were more expensive. In a cold water flat he would need to boil any wash water, including bathing water. We will get into the many different ways to bathe, including standing in small tubs over the sink, or going to bathhouses. (Link)
Some apartments had water heaters that were connected to a coin operated gas line, which we will get into. So it is possible for Steve to have had limited hot water, but equally possible for him to have lived at times in a cold water flat.
As Josephine remembers it, their apartment at 97 Orchard Street was dimly lit, barely furnished, and terribly cold. The cold must have been memorable. Rosaria [her mother] demanded they take cold-water sponge baths each morning, and their weekly tepid baths (small amounts of hot water came from a heater attached to the stove) took place in the kitchen sink. Rosaria also insisted on enemas, which she administered in the chill hall toilet. (Link)
Central heating: Steve wouldn't have had central heating. His heat probably would have come via the stove or a kerosene heater. In the winters families would close up rooms further from the stove and sleep near the heat source. Tenements could get so cold tenants could see their breath in the air.
Air conditioning: Steve wouldn't have had air conditioning, but apparently modern air conditioning was invented in 1902 (Link). This means there were probably some buildings like cinemas or libraries with air conditioning he could go to. Tenements got very hot in the summer. But he could've used electric fans to combat the heat if he had electricity and could afford to buy one.
Stove: There were three types of stoves: wood/coal/oil, gas, and electric. Electric ovens were the most expensive of the bunch, so I doubt Steve used those.
If he used an oil, coal, or wood burning stove he would need to buy fuel for it. Things like oil or coal could be bought at a store or delivered. Same with ice for ice boxes/refrigerators.
My mother put a card in the front window if she wanted oil or ice that day. As I remember, the oil and ice were delivered by the same truck. Usually we bought a twenty-five-cent piece of ice that the iceman would chop off with an ice pick. (Link)
Steve also could've had a gas stove. Apparently it was common for these to be coin operated. I had no idea what this would even look like before I looked it up, so here's a gif I made from the 1921 Charlie Chaplin movie The Kid showing it being used.
(I think the kid might be stealing the quarter back again at the end of the gif, but I'm no sure. People definitely did try to come up with ways to outsmart the meters though!)
These machines could also be connected to gas lights that would turn off when the money ran out. It could also be connected to a water heater as we discussed. (Link) It would depend on the building Steve lived in and his landlord whether he has things like gas stoves, a small water heater and gas versus electric lights.
Laundry: We covered laundry more in depth on a previous post. But just to recap, Steve very likely didn't have a laundry machine in his home. Although it was possible (it would take a lot of saving.) Laundry could be done by hand (most likely boiling water on the stove) or sent out to be done by someone else.
Dirty clothes would be sent to the wet wash, which would be picked up by a truck and returned wet. The clothes would be hung on a line from the kitchen window to the electrical pole to dry. (Link)
In the 30s and 40s self-serve laundromats began to become more common as well.
Lighting: The New Law did not require electrification, so it would depend on the landlord and where Steve was living if/when he would have electric or gas lights. (Basically headcanon what you what for you fics). In the case of the Tenement Museum, the Old Law building was electrified in 1924, so it's very possible Steve could remember getting electricity.
The New Law did require lighting in stairways as well as a ventilating skylight.
Toilets and Baths: Under the New Law, sewer connected toilets instead of backyard privies were required. New Law tenements were required to have one toilet for each apartment.
In the case of the Tenement Museum Old Law tenement though, they got one toilet for every two families. These were very small, cramped rooms with just a toilet inside, cut into space that used to be rentable space. These toilets also had to have windows.
So Steve would have had indoor plumbing, but depending on where he lived he could have had to share the toilet with another resident family.
Pages from the Tenement House Committee of the Charity Organization Society of New York book “For You,” published in 1910, intent on educating tenement dwellers. (Link)
As you can see from the above pictures the toilet spaces were very small and an after-thought for Old Law tenements. However, it looks like some tenements did also have bathtubs. It would probably depend on where Steve lived for whether he had a tub.
This tumblr post and this tumblr post show concept art for Steve’s pre-war apartment. It shows a tub in the kitchen that is also used as a table. This is a common design of older tenements. The apartment in the art is an Old Law tenement and the second link also gets into the history and layout of tenements. Steve probably moved multiple times so he could have lived in many different looking tenements, including one like that.
The New Law required bathing facilities but like most of the regulations, it was brought in slowly to the older buildings. The Tenement Museum on the Lower East Side didn't have tubs in the apartments. Instead residents would stand in small basins in front of the sink while they bathed. A small amount of hot water was available through a (coin operated) gas water heater connect to the stove.
Another options was public baths! This article and this article go into the history of public baths and has some pictures of the interior of some, so I won't go into too much detail. But at least some of these public baths were free. Public baths had showers and pools that used continually filtered water, which were a great way to cool off in the summer! This seems to be the main draw as use fell to only 4% in the winter.
Bath houses began to be obsolete by the 40s since most people had indoor plumbing by then.
Sign advertising free public baths. Circa 1935. (Link with more public bath photos.)
Getting back to toilets. I don't know how toilet paper worked in shared bathrooms. I have not seen anything about landlords providing toilet paper, to most likely tenants bought it themselves. If they shared a toilet then maybe they brought it with them to the toilet to keep anyone else from using it?
Basic maintenance and cleaning was often done by someone in the building in exchange for much cheaper rent. (Link showing janitor rent for $6 in 1930). So communal spaces like the stairs, halls and (probably) shared toilets would be maintained. (Did you know there used to be a female word for janitor? The word janitress is used in many ads.)
Rent
So what was rent like for Steve? This link gets into the complications of trying to determine historical rent so I can't say 100% what rent would have been.
From what I can find, rent cost was based off of how many rooms you had. It was also influenced by what floor you lived on. For example for one tenement in 1900 "a three-room apartment on the first floor of a tenement rented for $12-$13/month (about $4/room), while the same apartment on the 4th floor rented for $9.50-$10/month (about $3/room). (Link)
In later years "tenement households paid on average about $6.60 per room per month in 1928 and again in 1932."
Rent was usually about 1/3 of the household income but this is complicated for Steve considering how Sarah was a single mother. People in tenements often moved around a lot, finding better or cheaper places to live when able or needed.
Some rent number examples:
Discussion of $7.50-8 per room per month being too high in 1922 New York (Link)
$16 a month for 4 rooms in 1926 New York (Link)
$4-5 a week for 3-4 rooms, $8.75 a week for 5 rooms, in New Law electric tenement in 1926 New York (Link)
$5-7 a room a month in New York in 1934 (Link).
$7.20 a week for 5 rooms in 1937 New York (Link complains how it's cheaper to buy a whole house than rent continually...sounds familiar.)
Discussion of how New Law tenants are able to pay $12 dollars per room but Old Law tenants "unable to pay over $5 per room". Once again concern over $8 dollar a room rent, in 1937 New York (Link)
$17 a month for 4 rooms in 1940s Boston (Link)
$15-22 for 3-4 rooms for cold water flats in 1942 New York (Link)
$15 a month for 4 rooms in 1945 Boston (Link)
Basically I think it's safe to say Sarah and Steve would have done their best to have $15-25 rent a month. From what I can tell, this price range is considered low rent and Steve's rent would vary depending on where he lived. The more rooms the higher the rent.
One thing to think about with rent is the expensive side effect of cheaper living.
[O]verall the cold water flats were not cheap to live in because of the health hazards they created. First there was the problem of maintaining adequate heat during the winter. Second, the fumes from a coal burning stove contributed to respiratory problems. Third, the fumes from kerosene heaters compound the potential for the occupants to develop lung problems. And fourth, the popularity of asbestos heaters during the 1940s increased the risk for all kinds of health problems as we now know. (Link)
Steve and Sarah may not have had a choice where they lived because of their income, but it's likely Steve's living conditions impacted his health a great deal.
But What Did Tenements Look Like Inside?
I've found it somewhat difficult to pick images of tenement interiors because often the pictures being taken were done by Progressive advocates or city inspectors specifically to show poor, illegal living conditions. But this doesn't mean that's what Steve always/ever lived like.
But I've gathered a collection of photos I think show a good range of environments. These apartments had people who cared about them and tried to make the best of their situation. It was common for residents to paint or wallpaper their apartments after moving in to help make it feel like their own. The Tenement Museum floors had layers and layers of patterned linoleum floors from past residents. While the rooms were often cramped, dim, or cold, they were also often colourful, decorated, and kept tidy.
This section got very long so I'm going to make a second post next week with tenement pictures to show you! I will also link it at the end of this post.
The Streetside
Tenements often had storefronts on the first and/or basement levels of the building. The family running the business would often live in the back rooms behind the store.
These stores ranged from grocers, to barbers, to meat markets, to dress shops and everything in between. I will cover these stores and grocery stores more in depth in a later post, but I wanted to mention how likely it would be for shops to be on the street-level floor of a tenement.
Image of tenements with storefronts at street level, 1936. (Link)
In Conclusion
Steve lived a very different life than the other Avengers growing up in a tenement building. His experience would vary depending on the building and the landlord, but he likely had to aim for the cheapest housing available. Still, these places were full of life and cared for by many residents.
Tenement pictures coming Feb 11th ^_^
Bonus facts: Moving Day
As a follow up to my tenement building post, I've done my best to find a collection of photos to show what apartments Steve lived in could h
