“How to House the Poor”

The New York Times, February 24, 1896

“How to House the Poor”

“Completed Plans of the Conference to be Held Next Week”

“Building Company May Be Formed”

“Meetings to be Held Afternoons and Evenings – Morning Tours of Inspection.”

“The question of how best to house the poor in the crowded districts of great cities will be discussed in an interesting series of meetings to be held in this city…”

“Will Improved Housing Pay?”- “Moral Aspects of the Question” – “Next Steps Forward,”…

“The meetings will be held in the large audience hall of the United Charities Building, 105 East Twenty-second Street…”

fotograhiska screenshot

[The United Charities Building, 105 East Twenty-second Street, also known as 287 Park Avenue South, built in 1892 or 1893 or 1894, sold for $128 million several years ago, soon, sometime in 2019, will be a “destination for photography.” (“A haven of innovation and free expression.”… “Fotografiska New York will be anything but an ordinary museum, and we look forward to sharing our world-class photography, award-winning culinary experience, innovative academy, and cultural event programming…”… “The Museum of Photography, 281 Park Avenue South, New York.”… fotograhiska.)]

“The party will visit the following places Wednesday morning:
6:30 – Department of Street Cleaning… Col. George Waring” [Waring died eight months later of yellow fever. Waring was a “designer and advocate of sewer systems that keep domestic sewage separate from storm runoff.” wikipedia]
“10 – People’s Bath, 9 Centre Market Place…” [While researching Centre Market Place we stumbled upon this fascinating article.]
“10:30 – Police Headquarters, 300 Mulberry Street, Theodore Roosevelt, President” [Teddy was president of the US from 1901-1909… Police headquarters at 240 Centre St. opened in 1909.]
“12:15 – Tee-To-Tum Club, 346 East Twenty-third Street…”

The New York Times, February 24, 1896

The New York Times, March 11, 1894

A perennial question as posed by The NY Times and addressed by the “Improved Housing Conference” 123 years ago today: “How to House the Poor.”