Dumbbell+Tenement

**__Dumbbell Tenements__ By Elaine Ngo**
Dumbbell tenements were made in response to a new law passed in 1879. It stated that every inhabitable room must have at least one window for fresh air to come in. The magazine //Plumbing and Sanitation Engineer// held a design contest for a design that reached legal and health standards and would be successful commercially. The winning design was drawn up by James Ware.

Dumbbell tenements were just like ordinary tenements with just a different shape. The building narrowed on towards the middle of the building creating a dumbell-like shape. Each floor of the apartmants had four parlors, four living rooms, four bedrooms, and two bathrooms. Most families that lived in them threw trash down the shafts in the middle of the building that were supposed to be the open windows used for ventilation. Although the design was well-intentioned, it ultimately failed. The windows were not really helping with ventilation or light. Big families lived in tight quarters and there were only two restrooms. Hygiene and sanitation were often big problems that occurred. Because of the many dumbbell tenements in cities, many cities reeked of foul odors. Fires often spread rapidly from one tenement to the other because of the close proximity and the open shafts. Because of the failure, the air shafts were did away with and replaced by open courtyards so that garbage removal would have been easier. Later, the introduction of elevators reduced the amount of garbage thrown out of windows by upper tenants. The side streets of current Manhattan's Lower East Side are lined with dumbbell tenements.

Information provided by: [] [] Dumbbell Tenement, America:Past and Present. Eighth Edition. text pg.542 Lower East Side Tenement Museum Encyclopedia, pg.41-42

Image provided by Google Images.