Immigrants and Entertainment

With industrialism, came the urbanization and modernization of cities. This attracted many newcomers and people from the rural countryside. Between 1880 and 1900, city populations exploded from 6 million to 14 million. Immigrants came from almost every country in the world. Germans and the Irish were the majority; but British, Scandinavians, Austrians, Hungarians, Italians, Russians and Poles were among the many newcomers seeking refuge from poverty, oppression, violence and dreaming of a better life (Henretta 2006 p.551). Ninety-five percent of these immigrants came to America by steamship suffering cramped quarters and near starvation during their voyage. Settling primarily in the urban cities, immigrants took the hardest and lowest paid jobs in the industries (Daniels 1999). Divided by race and ethnicity, these migrants found life in the city daunting as they were automatically placed in wards or tenements. Up to five or six families shared a floor on the tenement, with only one or two toilets. Some buildings did not have plumbing and provided little air or sunshine. During daytime hours, they stayed outdoors in the streets to escape confinement and conduct their business. Though the density in the wards was miserable, business activity flourished. Grocers, butcher shops, candy stores along with newspapers supported the labor movement. Families began to use the rooftops of their buildings as a refuge from stuffy rooms and noisy, crowded streets (Educational 2005). A series of reforms would later make tenement life bearable. Laws were enacted requiring each apartment to have at least one window and its own bathroom. Socio-economic status and pervasive discrimination brought forth social service agencies such as Hull House in Chicago. These social networks tried to acclimate new, incoming immigrant into their new life and thus they were called selltlement homes (Henretta 2006 p. 556).

Life in the city was becoming disorderly and uncertain. Mark Twain stated, the city was “a splendid desert, where a stranger is lonely in the midst of a million of his race…Every man rushes, rushes, rushes, and never has time to be companionable or to fool away on matters which do not involve dollars and duty and business” (Brody et al, 2006). Capitalizing on fellowship, institutions began to spring up to meet city dwellers needs. Going out became necessary to get away from the constraints of work and being confined at home (Henretta 2006 p.560). Music halls, such as vaudeville houses, were created, slowly giving way to Broadway musical theater. Times Square, formerly known as Long Acre Square, became the entertainment capital of America and home to many of these theaters (Educational 2005). To get away from the hustle and bustle of the city, one could go to Coney Island, home of the first carousel built by Danish woodcarver Charles I.D. Looff in 1876. With Coney Island’s easy beach access, horse racing, gambling, hot dog stands, and freak shows, inhabitants of the city could get away and have some fun for as little as a nickel (Travel 2007). Organized sports, like baseball, became a way for fans to identify with their home and acted as a bridge among strangers. It provided an escape from the drudgery and spiritual oppression of work (Dyreson 1999). In cities like New York, laws were passed to mark off certain acreage for city beautification projects. Central Park was created out of these laws. Citizens were provided another quiet refuge from city life, while maintaining the beauty of the countryside (Henretta 2006).