Jacob Riis- How the Other Half Lives

Within Jacob Riis' project, How the Other Half Lives, he included various images that depicts the way of life for many immigrants around the year 1890. The image I have chosen was entitled A downtown "Morgue" (unlicensed saloon) c. 1890 and it truly shows the harsh conditions many New York immigrants faced in this period. The building itself is dark and dirty and could hardly be considered a "saloon". All of the men in the image look tired and worn down, they fit in well with their surroundings. Judging from this image, the New York that the immigrants experienced probably did not live up to their expectations. A place such as a saloon is normally imagined to have bright lights, loud music and vibrantly dressed dancers whereas this was not the case for an immigrant saloon. It is even nicknamed a "morgue" which does not give a very good impression of the building or the lives the immigrants must have been living during 1890.

The attitudes towards the "new" Americans pictured here cannot have been positive simply due to the conditions of the characters and the building within the image. The men in the picture, once I closely examined the expressions on their faces, look tired and depressed. The character that stood out for me was the black man by the bar. His clothing appears to be ripped and his facial expression shows sadness. Why would these men go to such a depressing place? Perhaps the saloon, or "morgue", may have been the only place the "new" Americans were able to go as they were not accepted anywhere else. It is well known that immigrants tended to live with and near other immigrants as this is where they felt safe. Although this saloon was probably not the nicest place to go and wind down after a long day of hard work, it was all the immigrants had. It also begs the questions as to whether or not the immigrants even wanted to be integrated into American society if they were willing to spend time in a building like this.