New York 1865

Gregor Dallas tells how the transition from small-town to metropolis brought enormous problems and pressures to the Big Apple. 

New York literally stank. It was only necessary to take a short walk around the back of City Hall to get a full whiff of that 'sickening stench; as contemporaries would describe it, a stench which came from the narrow streets and alleys of the Five Points quarter and. the Lower East Side (that bunion in a south-east corner without which, along with the northern 'tail' of Fort Washington and Tubby Hook, would have existed the perfect lozenge of an island, Manhattan). Smells of dead animals, decaying garbage, untreated sewage, horse manure, even human beings too crowded and unwashed, filled the air of New York. Unlike Paris or London, there was no escaping it; it was all pervading.

To continue reading this article you will need to purchase access to the online archive.

Buy Online Access  Buy Print & Archive Subscription

If you have already purchased access, or are a print & archive subscriber, please ensure you are logged in.

Please email digital@historytoday.com if you have any problems.

 

USA