The Benefits of Life in the Industrial City

LIFE AND LABOR IN THE INDUSTRIAL WORLD HIST 1301 | History The Benefits of Life in the Industrial City People mostly travelled to industrial centres in the nineteenth century in search of employment. Some were drawn to the thrill of city living as well. Living in a nineteenthcentury city has numerous advantages as well as disadvantages. The abundance of leisure and recreational options, some of which were exclusive to cities, was one of the benefits. For example, there were libraries and bookstores for the rich elite and the expanding middle class, which included the sales agents, engineers, accountants, and managers who were so important to industrialization. Free libraries were also present in a variety of settings, from big cities like Boston, New York, London, Paris, Berlin, Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Tokyo, and Kyoto to tiny towns like Peterborough, New Hampshire. Many libraries were subscription libraries, lending books only to members who paid their dues. There were newspapers everywhere; every city had at least one, and some had many. Theatres presented plays, operas, ballets, concerts, and other events for the upper and middle classes, but the working class was frequently able to see the performances and enjoy the music. Built between 1885 and 1892, the opera theatre in Manaus, deep in the Brazilian rain forest, provided access to operas, plays, and concerts for rubber barons and the affluent bankers and merchants who catered to them. The working class had alternative forms of amusement. Young ladies sang and danced at cabarets in Paris, burlesque theatres in the United States, and music halls in Britain. At a period when women's gowns covered the tops of their shoes, the thought of skirts being kicked in the air was frequently thrilling. Every night, men and women flocked to dance halls. Young city inhabitants found the energy to dance even after hard days at the factory or office, and working-class men and women created and popularised several dances, such as the tango, which originated in Buenos Aires dance halls in the 1880s. Cities provided more affordable entertainment options towards the end of the 1800s, especially for the working class. For a modest fee, anyone may view short films on machines at arcades. At the end of the 20th century, early cinema theatres with silent films and straightforward plots started to develop in cities. At the end of streetcar and rail lines were extravagant amusement parks with electric lighting and steam-powered rides. Attractions like target shooting, roller coasters, and ferris wheels frequently provided visceral delights like flying through the air or provided a channel for hostility. The attraction was clear to men and women who were accustomed to monotonous, repetitive work and were required to repress their dissatisfaction while at work. Certain parks, such as Dreamland in Coney Island in New York and Tivoli in Copenhagen, Denmark, were more appealing to families because they were regarded as more sophisticated and calm. Dreamland attempted to provide guests an ostensibly instructive experience by simulating Venetian canals and Swiss scenery. It also included programmes with biblical themes that foretold of sin's consequences. One of the pleasures of living in a metropolis was shopping. The contemporary department store, including plenty of merchandise, electrical lighting, and eye-catching window displays, was made possible by mass manufacturing and public transit. At least one of these large stores could be found in every major industrialised city in the globe. There was Wanamaker's in Philadelphia, Selfridge's in London, Stewart's and Macy's in New York, and Le Bon Marché in Paris. Customers were allowed to wear their shoes inside the stores, which was another innovation Mitsukoshi and Matsuzakaya in Tokyo brought to Japanese culture, which traditionally forced people to go barefoot indoors. During the Second Industrial Revolution, consumerism played a significant role in middle-class women's lives in addition to parenting and housekeeping. Tearooms and ladies' lounges offered by stores lured them in, offering a place to relax in case their shopping wearied them. Additionally, department shops provided young women from the working class with jobs in hygienic, secure environments. Window shopping originated because those who could not buy the items could nevertheless enjoy gazing at them. The French expression lecher les vitrines, which translates to "licking the window glass," perfectly expresses the pleasure that comes with the activity. Department shops shaped a burgeoning consumer culture by introducing customers to the newest fashions.