Wednesday, December 1, 2010

"A model tenement house" 101 years later on Avenue B

I came across this page from the "Apartment Houses of the Metropolis" at the NYPL archives... it's dated 1909... It shows "a model tenement house" at 224-226 Avenue B... where rents go for $20 to $25 per month...



You can see the address here today... 101 years later, not much has seemingly changed outside ... save the storefronts, one of which has been home to Mona's....


9 comments:

Laura Goggin Photography said...

Nice find!

Lisa said...

That is so cool. Would be interesting to see what current rent rates are!

EV Grieve said...

Good question, Lisa. I just looked ... there are two two-bedroom apartments on the market now at 224... one is $2,395; the other is $2,295.

esquared™ said...

according to the inflation calculator, $25 in 1909 is equivalent to $589.50 in 2009. that's still way, way, affordable than what the current rates are.
[damn mike, amanda, gentrification...]

Lisa said...

Thanks, Grieve!

jw said...

that railroad in the middle on the right must have been dismal considering all its windows face onto the airshaft. thx for posting!

Jill said...

George Pelham (as in Pelham Parkway) invented the dumbbell style tenement which revolutionized housing in New York. Here is what I found out about him: http://mingum.blogspot.com/2009/05/urban-housing-george-f-pelham.html

Jill said...

Beatrice: the windows facing the inside were revolutionary because prior to this there were rooms with no windows at all, and people died from lack of ventilation and being trapped by fires. This design was so much more humane.

Anonymous said...

I've been in a few of those apartments. Yah the middle one is nasty, without any good source of natural light.
The apt with the long hall is great. The hall adds almost another room and the room off the kitchen is spacious with a nice sized bedroom. This was back in the '80's when people I knew could afford to rent in that bldg. Those days are gone. No one I know can afford such outrageous rents. Can I be blunt -who can? I may be completely out of touch but who can afford that kind of spa e - because all in all they are not spectacular units, who is willing to pay that much for that?