City life what is it like The

City life, what is it like?

The Excitement of City Life City life -downtown center, theatres, stores, and busy streets Congestion -So many people moved in too much traffic they built underground tunnels for the streetcars

City Planning Beauty and open space important to the well-being of city people. Usually cities grew without plans Frederick Law Olmstead designed NY’s Central Park in 1858 -A green refuge in the middle of New York

Central Park

Inventors and Inventions Bringing great changes to the lives of city folk -Phonograph, lightbulb, light switches, fuse boxes, and underground electric cables -Electricity became inexpensive-what man was the genius behind this?

Thomas Edison Nickname- “Wizard of Menlo Park” Famous Quote- “Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration. ”

The Telephone A lot of people couldn’t believe that people would rather give verbal messages than written ones However, by 1890 every major city had a phone system So, who was the genius behind the all popular telephone?

Alexander Graham Bell

Housework, Easier? ? -Electric stoves-(no more chopping wood) -Indoor plumbing-(no emptying chamber pots) -Canned food-(no preserving food in jars) -Refrigerated cars-(ship oranges from CA-VA) -Clothing-(no more sewing your own clothes) -Laundry mat-(no more washing them yourself) -Department stores-(no more going all over the place to buy different items) -J. C. Penny, Woolworths, Macy’s

Leisure----FREE TIME Because housework was easier people, especially women, had more time on their hands -Reading-Jacob Riis-scoop on scandals -Samuel Clemens-Mark Twain -Amusement Parks -Circuses-P. T. Barnum -Vaudeville-a stage show that combined songs, dance, opera, and comedy. -Baseball- “national pastime” -Bicycles-now air-filled tires instead of solid ones -Dance Halls-at first dating unusual so same sex danced with one another but that changed soon

Dancing/Vaudeville

Culture Blossoms -Museums, symphonies, and opera houses started to sprout up -Art began to make its mark on the world -These things began to isolate the rich from the poor -Symphony or opera was a time to show your wealth and status -Working people couldn’t afford to buy tickets