19th Century American City Research Paper

The nineteenth century ushered in technological innovations and developments to urban city life. The American cities grew exponentially, with buildings, infrastructure, and population While cities in America witnessed new technology such as motion pictures, the telephone, and advanced infrastructure, cities were also lacking proper sanitation and suffered overcrowded housing conditions. The American city, while bustling with social and leisure opportunities, succumbed to many social ills, such as orphaned children, disease, and crime.
Nineteenth century housing accommodations featured some of the most unsanitary and dangerous aspects of city life, urban dwellers enjoyed modern leisure past times considered uniquely American, and urban cities …show more content…
Leisure time in American cities increased, as time working in factories decreased and technology sped up the process of working efficiency. The urban city dweller now possessed both time and money to enjoy the latest innovations of motion pictures, new sports, and shopping. Consumerism rose, especially for women. Women had less traditional home keeping roles, instead they entered the workforce and now had money to spend. Fashion and personal tastes developed especially for women. Purchasing items for both the home and for personal use were convenient with the inception of department stores and mail order catalogs. The most famous: Sears and Roebuck (Brinkley 430-433). Large department stores could be found in major cities and each competed to make shopping more alluring and thrilling for its …show more content…
Central Park, in New York City, designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux created the feel of not being in the city (Brinkley 424). City parks leveled the social classes as both poor and the wealthy as they interacted in a public location. Sometimes they encountered issues as to what was acceptable behavior. The wealthy saw noisy activities such as sports unacceptable in the park setting (Brinkley 434). Strikingly, the contrast of Coney Island New York. Americans welcomed the unusual entertainment as they broke away from ridged, proper standards of behavior. Coney Island brought crowds on weekends, as people wanted to get away from overcrowded city life. The amusement park featured rides: the roller coaster, peculiar sights like conjoined twins and animals not seen before (broklynbased.com/blog). Glimpses of sexual freedoms abounded as public displays of touch and people who didn’t know each other may encounter a ride that pushes them into one