Apartment House

APARTMENT HOUSE. In Great Britain, the term "apartment house" would be understood to mean a house let off in tenements or "lodgings." A British domestic dwelling erected for the specific purpose of providing separate dwellings, each with its separate entrance, is termed a block of "flats" and each of its separate dwelling places is called a "flat." In the United States, on the other hand, a building specially built to form a group of separate dwellings is known as an apartment house. This is one of many striking illustrations of the different uses of the same English word in Great Britain and America, for whereas in New York an "apartment" means a separate dwelling, and sometimes a very highly rented one, in London it means a poor type of accommodation without a separate entrance in a lodging house, or tenement house in a poor quarter.

Apartment Houses in American Cities.

Formerly apart ment houses were features exclusively of large cities such as New York and Chicago. The few in other cities were exceptions standing in sharp contrast to the general character of residences. These were largely houses in which a single family lived, or in neighbourhoods of some cities two-family houses. In recent years, however, there has been a widespread definite trend from this long-prevailing condition to apartment-house life. As officially defined, an apartment house is any building arranged for three or more families living independently of one another and doing their own cooking on the premises. Actually, the great number of apartment houses contain a multitude of families the number of which may range from a dozen to 66 and to more in some of the extremely large buildings.

An outgrowth of the tenement house, the apartment house is only a higher-class application of the same plan of domiciling many families in a single building. Until recent times, this mass ing was considered wholly as the special lot of the poor in the congested districts of certain large cities. That families should live in such a state, tier above tier, was looked upon as an odious existence and as a sure proof of their low standing. Possession of a private house gave a distinct prestige, and even after the apartment house evolved from the tenement the general senti ment favouring the idea of a house for a family was long dom inant. But either by choice or necessity the attitude of a con siderable part of the American people toward apartment-house life has undergone a great change. Apartment-house life is now accepted as normal by all classes up to the multi-millionaire.

Apartrnent `houses differ from tenements in the character of building and equipment. The tenement barrack is the cheapest and ugliest form in which families are grouped. Lower types of apartments retain some of the defects of the tenement as, for instance, the need of walking up many flights of stairs. On the other hand, they are better designed, have generally more light and air, are furnished with better conveniences and present a more inviting appearance. In the varying upper grades of apart ment houses elevator and other service is supplied. The final stage of apartment houses is reached in the costly places occupied by the very rich, with their elaborate suites of spacious rooms having every facility to minister to luxurious desires and gratify social ambitions.

Spread of the Apartment Movement.

The greatest and most impressive change in the residential composition of American cities was shown by the results of a questionnaire on housing sent early in 1927 by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. In the list were more than three hundred American cities having a population of 25,000 or more. Full reports received from 294 cities showed that of the total expenditures for building construc tion of all kinds in the year 1926 a little over a was spent for one-family dwellings. But the next highest expen diture was for apartment houses; the proportion-21.9%—almost approached that for one-family houses. In 1921 the construction of apartment houses was nearly two and a half times less than that of one-family dwellings-54,814 to 130,873. But year after year apartment-house building gained until in 1926, with a record of 209,742, it much exceeded the 188,074 one-family dwellings built. The year 1926 marked the turning point. It was the first year in which, in 2S7 American cities, apartment-house construc tion predominated over that of one-family houses. In that year apartment-house construction accounted for almost one-half of all the money spent for family habitations in those cities con sidered as a whole.

The widespread transition to apartment houses was further shown by the total percentages of families provided for by hous ing construction in the 257 cities during the six-year period. The percentage for one-family houses decreased from 58-3 in 1921 to 40-7 in 1926 and that for two-family houses from 17.3 to 13'9. The percentage for apartment houses almost doubled, rising from to During the six years nearly 848,000 apartment houses were built.

Commenting upon these significant figures the report declared that they tended to show that Americans were becoming a race of cliff dwellers. In the period from 1921 to 1926 there had been an increase of 105.8% in the number of families provided for by the building of all classes of dwellings. The number of families accommodated in apartment houses had increased 282.6%. Shrinking percentages revealed the lessening number of families seeking homes in one and two-family houses. The increase in the case of one-family houses was a fraction more than 43%, and in that of two-family houses a shade over 65%.

Effects in Various Cities.—The movement to apartments differed greatly in particular cities. There are in the United States fourteen cities of more than 5oo,000 population each. New York city has always been regarded as the leader in constant apartment house building. But the returns showed that Boston, in 1921, provided for more families by apartment-house construction than any other city in the United States. In that year 54% of all the families accommodated in up-to-date dwellings in Bos ton took rooms in apartments. San Francisco and Chicago each erected, in 1921, a relatively larger number of apartment units than did New York city. In 1925, however, New York regained the lead in the building of apartment houses; nearly 61% of all families provided for were accommodated in new dwellings of the apartment type, and this proportion increased in 1926 to more than 71%.

The wide differences in apartment building were exemplified in the cases of Los Angeles and San Francisco. In the former city fully half of the total families provided for in the years 1921, 1925 and 1926 by new housing construction went into single family dwellings. San Francisco, on the other hand, showed a larger proportion of families provided for in apartment houses than in one-family dwellings.

The proportion of families provided for by new apartment house construction in various cities was as follows : New York led with 71.6%, Chicago closely following with 6g-3%. Then came St. Louis with 58.4; Washington 56.3; San Francisco Boston 42.6; Los Angeles 39.8; Detroit 35; Cleveland 28'9; Pittsburgh 24.3 ; Buffalo and Milwaukee 19.3% each.

Philadelphia and Baltimore have retained their traditional character as cities of private homes. Although Philadelphia has grown greatly in the last decade, it still has few apartments as compared with other cities. In 1926 about 8o% of Philadelphia families lived in private houses. In Baltimore, where but a small number of apartments have been built, the proportion was con siderably larger. Less than 20% of Chicago's population live in private houses; in Boston about 26%, and in the borough of Man hattan, New York City, less than 4%.

Tendency to Fewer Rooms.—According to the Tenement House Department of New York City the movement of both rich and poor is to apartment life. The servant problem has been forcing even the rich and well-to-do to abandon city private homes. Many of the rich also have seaside or country mansions to which they can go at will. Paying $20,000 to $3o,000 yearly rentals for sumptuous apartments they find in them a superior service ; and although they have personal servants the number is many less than that required for a large private house.

The highly expensive apartments on Park avenue and on Fifth avenue, New York City, usually contain from nine to 16 sound proof rooms, frequently arranged in duplex or triplex style. The larger apartments include a number of chambers and dressing rooms, ample cupboards, a commodious living room, a dining room, a library and a foyer, a kitchen, several rooms for maids and a number of baths.

Apart from the rich, the overwhelming general tendency has been toward living in fewer rooms. The records of the New York City Tenement House Department show that since 1902 the average number of rooms in apartments for the whole city has decreased from 4-69 to 3.56. The three-room apartment is now the established unit in demand. To an extent, this has be come increasingly true of other cities. • One reason is increased rents due to high building and living costs and to mounting taxation. Other influential factors are the opportunities afforded by the automobile and by other means for out-of-door enjoyment. So much time is spent out of the apart ment that only rooms for actual living needs are considered essential.

This process has been hastened by the spread of apartment hotels with their average two-room apartments and by the prev alent practice of many members of servantless households eat ing their meals in restaurants or in other public hostelries. Even among high-class apartment renters there has been a pronounced tendency to smaller apartments. Not long ago seven to nine room apartments on Riverside drive, New York City, were in fashionable demand. In recent years renting them has become so difficult that the owners converted many of the buildings into smaller apartments.

Co-operative Apartments.

These are houses in which the tenant owns his own apartment by buying outright or by instal ment purchase. Beginning about the year 192o this movement made considerable progress, appealing both to the very rich and to persons of moderate means. By 1927 the majority of apartments in at least 15o co-operative apartment-buildings in New York City had been sold. Sums paid varied from $75o to $20,000 a room, the price depending upon the building's position and charac ter, and the apartment's space, style and arrangement. In Chicago, Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles the co-operative apartment movement has been conspicuously successful. In various other cities the movement is. passing through its initial stages. See FLAT. See R. W. Sexton, American Apartment Houses of Today, Illus trating Plans, Details, Exteriors and Interiors of Modern City and Suburban Apartment Houses Throughout the United States (1926) ; Teunis J. Von der Bent, The Planning of Apartment Houses, Tene ments and Country Houses (1917) ; Frederic Culver, "Successful Co-operative Apartment Buildings" (in the Architectural Forum, Nov. 1920 p. 187-189) ; F. C. Brown, "Tendencies in Apartment House Design" (in the Architectural Record, 1921-22, V. 49, P. v. 5o P. 44-63, 102-117, ; V. 51, p. 62-76, 152-169, 249-268) ; J. T. Boyd, "Garden Apartments in Cities" (in the Archi tectural Record, 192o, v. 48, p. 121-135).