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How Electricity Changed Our Lives: What Domestic Life Was Like in NYC Before Electricity Through the Mid-20th Century

If you’re like most folks in New York City, you probably come home from work, flip a switch, and enjoy the bright lights in your kitchen or living room. You pull a cold drink from the fridge, turn on the television, and use your mobile phone to raise the heat with your smart thermostat. Want a hot shower before bed? Toss in a quick load of laundry? No problem. Believe it or not, these luxuries – even basic heat and light – have only been enjoyed for 100 years or less in New York. Here’s a glimpse of what life was like in pre-industrial New York, so you can see how electricity changed our lives.

From European Settlement to the Mid-1800s

Candles, coal, and wood

From the time of New York City’s first settlement by Europeans in the very early 17th century until the middle of the 19th century, life was hard for all but the wealthiest individuals. People used candles or oil lanterns as a source of light, which often led to early bedtimes because there was nothing to do once the sun went down, and they needed to conserve their light fuel for the most essential tasks. Candles and lanterns were also, unsurprisingly, a common cause of house fires.

There were no street lamps in the early days of New York City. Instead, people who lived facing the streets were required to leave lights in their windows for those outside, especially during short winter days when commerce still carried on after sunset. It wasn’t until almost 1700 that some oil lamps were installed in public areas.

Homes at this time were heated by wood fires at first and later with coal. Of course, many households had no servants (or sometimes slaves) to chop wood, haul coal, manually heat water for bathing (infrequent!) and cleaning, or sweep chimneys. This was all done by family members, often children, and homes would typically grow very cold overnight.

Cooking was often done in the same fireplace that heated the home, although some larger residences had separate stoves and ovens fueled by wood or coal. Without refrigeration, few fresh foods were consumed, particularly in winter months, and people ate a more seasonal diet. Many meats and fish were preserved with salt, drying, or pickling. People who lived on the outskirts of the city as it grew made use of spring houses to hold milk, cheese, and other foods that would spoil easily. Cold root cellars kept items like potatoes, apples, and carrots fresh for months after harvesting.

With no fans or air conditioning in summer, passive heating was key. Better residences were constructed to take advantage of cross breezes. Although retractable awnings for shade had been around since the Roman Empire, they didn’t become widespread in the US until the early 1800s.

The Gilded Age

Gas lamps and more coal

The Gilded Age – a term coined by Mark Twain – refers to the period after the American Civil War until the turn of the 20th century. Anyone who is familiar with the works of New York author Edith Wharton may well know about life in the city during this time. For those who are interested, there is also a popular new television show on HBO called “The Gilded Age” that accurately depicts New York City life for both the wealthy and their servants during the second half of the 19th century.

During the Gilded Age, there were some improvements in quality of residential life, but as before, they mostly applied to those with large bank accounts. Gas lamps had lit up a section of Broadway as early as 1825, but it took decades longer to light up more of the city, as the gas piping had to be laid to supply fuel. Gas lamps also made their way to home interiors, a vast improvement over candlelight.

Most homes were still heated by wood fire or coal, with small gas stoves gaining ground as the 19th century progressed until steam heat came into vogue. The most affluent residents of New York City had central coal heating, which relied on convection through ductwork to supply heat, as opposed to little fireplaces in every room. While coal was easier in many ways than wood, it came with a distinct downside: the soot it produced everywhere as it burned, blackening buildings and endangering residents’ respiratory systems.

Cooking was still done over coal or wood fires, although it was no longer done in open fireplaces as the 19th century progressed and cast iron stoves grew in use. Ice boxes were sometimes used to store cold food, relying on regular ice delivery by horse-drawn carriage.

Because everyone had to climb stairs to reach their abodes, the height of buildings in New York City was limited. Rope-and-pulley dumbwaiters were sometimes used to haul laundry, trash, and supplies for daily living. It wasn’t until electricity made elevators possible that the tall apartments and skyscrapers we know today became the norm.

The Industrial Revolution

The advent of steam heat, electricity, and more

With the Industrial Revolution in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, New York City saw a boom in many of the amenities we currently take for granted. Steam heat from cast iron radiators became mainstream, doing away with fireplaces for all but show. Electricity was installed in both public places and private residences, replacing gas lamps for reading. In fact, New York City was at the forefront of using electrical power due to having inventor Thomas Edison nearby, who developed the light bulb and built the city’s first power generator.

Once electricity was common, it began to be used for a variety of household appliances, such as:

• Refrigerators
• Clothes washers
• Toasters
• Fans
• Vacuum cleaners

By the 1950s, these items were found in homes of nearly all economic classes, and over the last 60-odd years, we’ve added a wealth of large and small appliances, entertainment devices, and computer systems, to name a few.

Does your building still have old wiring from the early days of electricity in New York? Are you ready for an upgrade for safety and convenience? Call Bolt Electric today at 212-434-0098 to schedule an appointment to join the 21st century!