The Cincinnati daily star. [volume] ([Cincinnati, Ohio]) 1875-1880, 1879-05-31
HOMES OF THE POOR.
A Few Facts and Figures Relating
to Our Tenement Houses.


About the 1st of March Health Officer
Minor directed the Sanitary policemen to
make careful inspection of the tenement
houses in their respective districts and
make an examination of the same-the
number of rooms, families and inmates
that they contained and the sanitary con-
dition of each. When this mass OF statis-
tics was obtained it was condensed and
placed in tabular form, which will give at
glance a better idea of the number, kind
and condition of our tenement houses than
could be obtained from any other source.
All houses containing more than families
were classed as tenement houses, and in
this class were placed 5,616 houses, which
are scattered over the entire city. OF
these the Fourth Ward contains 443, the
Eleventh Ward 424, the Thirteenth Ward
All, the Twenty-third Ward $50, the Tenth
Ward 1885, the Seventh Ward $50, the Third
Ward 1885, and the Sixth Ward $50, while
in the Twenty-fifth Ward there are only 80
and in the First Ward 79. From this 1t
will be seen that the greater part OF the
tenement houses lie along the river on
Front and Water streets, in the region
of Bucktown and Sixth-street Hill and
along the canal until it leaves the city.
In this region can also be found the
largest, the poorest and the most objection
able. The Big Missouri, which for several
decades was the most noted tenement
house in all the West, has now ceased to be
tenement house and is undergoing re-
Nair hnt ~
contain more inmates than did the Big Mis-
souri,, yet they are in far better condition.
House No. $40 Plum street is at present the
largest tenement in the city, 1t contains
So rooms, which are occupied by 81 fami-
lies, composed of 1877 persons.
In the Seventh Ward there is house
containing 80 rooms, 10 families, or so in
mates; and there are other tenements,
such as the Museum and the Modoc build
ing, which do not come far behind.
The total number of rooms in the tene-
ment houses OF the city is 54, ,064, and these
are occupied by "a, $50 families, composed of
105, 4Ss persons. This will make an average
of l. .95 persons to the room.
The total number found to be in bad con-
dition is 252; of these A were in the Six
teenth Ward, Sc in the Sixth Ward IS in
the Second Ward, and II in each of the
Ninth and Twenty-fourth Wards, and a
smaller number in each Of the remaining
wards. The bad condition consisted in
nearly every case in bad drainage and full
vaults.
The greater part of these have since how
ever been abated, so that at present there
are few tenement houses in the city which
can be classed as being in bad condition.
But when a house is in as good condition as
ha ,rit tho,, hni,, ala rnI
it is regarded as being in good condition,
yet many of these houses contain such small
rooms and have such poor ventilation that
they are extremely unhealthy, and the
death rate in them is large. The dense pop
ulation in many of them, together with a
want of proper drainage, must account in
part at least for heavy mortality among
children, especially in the summer and
winter months during the extremes of tenn
perature. High houses, narrow streets,
damp and shady courts and alleys, over
crowded rooms can hardly be regarded as
conducive to good health. Many habita-
tions contain rooms that are never reached
by sunlight or ventilated by pure air. Al
most 5000 open vaults and cesspools diff
fuse their miasmatlc and noisome exhala-
ton through these tenements. Under the
torrid heat of July and August the poison
GUS gases arising from this vast service of
decomposing organic matter contaminate
the air and are diffused over the adjoiningand
less crowded localities, breeding disease and
during times of pestilence, largely increas-
ing the rate Immortality to the whole popu-
lation.
Cincinnati has one of the lowest death
rates among American cities yet in wards
where tenement houses abound the death
f,i a1l I,t1 hn ,rto
Ward there was death to every AZ inhab,
itants during the year 1878, while in the
Ninth Ward there was only one to every
SS. The remaining wards were included
between these extremes. The Health Off
Ger is confident that, with the information
which he has obtained by this inspection
that he will be able to throw more light
on the cause of mortality in certain dis
tricts OF the city, and also be able to make
some suggestions regarding an improved
system of drainage and a better water sup
! ply for various wards in which sanitary i'm
provements are greatly needed.
OF the different wards in the city the
Thirteenth, which is bounded by Liberty
street and McMicken avenue, Vine street
and the Canal, shows the worst record
This ward has but 76 acres, yet upon this
small area there is an estimated population
of II ,9l6 of whom 8, 246 dwell in tenement
houses This would give population Of
l2l.66 to the acre, which is the largest av.
erage of any ward in the city with the ex.
ception of the Seventh where the esti
mated population to the acre is 177.76
Besides having the largest number of tene.
ment houses, and the largest number of in,
mates of tenement houses. the Thirteenth
Ward also has the highest death rate, and q
larger proportion of the inhabitants of the
ward reside in tenement houses than in any
other ward of the city.
The estimated population of the city
based on the vote taken at the last Presi
dental election, is 2S3, $50, of whom 105, ABS
are residents of tenement houses. The city
contains 5,6l6 tenement houses, having al
aggregate of 54,065 rooms, and furnishing
homes for "a, 1888 families, with an average
of 422 persons to the family. There ar,
1888 Of these houses which have vaults
| / 1,050 thatare drained by sewers, 3,769 tina
have cisterns and 5,381 supplied by rive
water.