THE WORKMEN'S HOME (L)
"To purchase, in some eligible part of the city, a plot of ground 200 feet
square; to erect upon this a block of buildings four stories high, dividedin
one direction into two parts by a passage twenty feet wide, and in the
other direction into four parts, by three passages, twenty, ten, and twenty
feet wide respectively; -- each of the eight buildings thus made, consists
of three houses; --each house having a single entrance, with a hall, piazza
in the rear for each story, and upon each floor two with sink, water closet,
etc.—Thus there would be, in the four stories of each house 24 rooms for
as many families; --and the block would accommodate as many families. "(16)
The first Workingman’s Home was built in 1855, designed by John W. Ritch
and was occupied only by black families. The Workmen’s Home housed
87 families in a 53-foot-wide, 188 foot-deep, six-story-high building facing
a 22-foot-wide flagged alley like courtyard that extended through the block.
Toilets and water tapes were located in the public hall on each floor.
Shops occupied the ground floor and two rooms were reserved on the sixth
floor for social and religious meetings as well as occasional concerts.
(17)
In 1867, AICP sold the building to the trustees of the Five Points
House of Industry for $100,000. In addition to renaming it the "Workingmen’s
Home", the new owners invested around $40,000 to refurbish the property
to run it as a boardinghouse. (18)
In 1872, trustees sold building for the same price they bought
it for. Poor management in addition to sloppy tenants led to the
building being nicknamed the "Big Flat." The building was demolished
in 1888.
Although model tenements were often successful, only a limited number of these experimental buildings were erected. They were expensive to construct since the amenities included (such as plumbing, adequate lighting, ventilation, etc.) were so costly. Companies that built model tenements often relied on private investors and never really profited off of the model tenements. Model tenements unfortunately were just not as financially rewarding as "normal", low-cost tenements were. Thus, the model tenements, while proved to be safer and more pleasurable, never made a significant change in the building of multiple family dwellings.