Jacob Riis and the Photographs That Changed New York
- Daniel Holland
- Jul 27
- 6 min read
Updated: Aug 9

In 1890, a book titled How the Other Half Lives introduced readers to a world that many had ignored, the tenement slums of New York City. Behind its words and images was a determined journalist named Jacob Riis, who used a camera not for art, but for change. His story is one of hardship, resilience, and a deep commitment to social justice, one that began not in New York, but in a quiet Danish town.

LONG ago it was said that “one half of the world does not know how the other half lives.” That was true then. It did not know because it did not care. The half that was on top cared little for the struggles, and less for the fate of those who were underneath, so long as it was able to hold them there and keep its own seat. There came a time when the discomfort and crowding below were so great, and the consequent upheavals so violent, that it was no longer an easy thing to do, and then the upper half fell to inquiring what was the matter. Information on the subject has been accumulating rapidly since, and the whole world has had its hands full answering for its old ignorance.
– Jacob Riis, Introduction to How The Other Half Lives

From Denmark to New York: The Early Journey
Jacob Riis was born in 1849 in Ribe, Denmark, the third of 15 children in a family led by a schoolteacher father. Though his upbringing was modestly comfortable, Riis was more drawn to practical work than academic study. He trained as a carpenter but struggled to find direction. After a heartbreak — the woman he loved married someone else while he was away — Riis made the life-altering decision to leave Denmark behind and pursue a future in the United States.
In 1870, he arrived in New York with few belongings and even fewer prospects. The journey across the Atlantic was made in steerage class, and his early years in America were marked by uncertainty. He took on various jobs, often struggling to earn enough to survive. Life was difficult, and at one point he experienced homelessness himself. But these experiences gave Riis a close understanding of the challenges facing the city’s working poor — insight that would later shape his life’s work.

Jacob Riis, A Reporter Photographs the New York Tenements
Riis eventually found work as a police reporter for the New York Tribune. This role took him deep into the city’s poorest neighbourhoods, particularly the Lower East Side. What he witnessed was alarming: overcrowded tenements, unsafe living conditions, and children sleeping rough on the streets.
At first, Riis tried to describe these realities through his writing. He published numerous articles, hoping to draw attention to the conditions faced by thousands of New Yorkers. But he quickly realised that words alone weren’t enough to convey the scale or severity of the problems. As he later said, “It did not make much of an impression — these things rarely do, put in mere words.”

Turning to Photography
In the mid-1880s, Riis began experimenting with photography to support his journalism. He worked with amateur photographers and police officers to capture the city’s tenements and alleyways. Among his collaborators was Henry G. Piffard, a lawyer with a passion for photography, who helped him navigate the technical side of the process.
Because much of the slum housing was poorly lit or entirely dark inside, Riis and his team used an early form of flash photography known as Blitzlicht. It required igniting magnesium powder — a risky but effective way to light up indoor spaces. The results were often grainy, but they succeeded in capturing what had previously gone unseen.

The belief that every man’s experience ought to be worth something to the community from which he drew it, no matter what that experience may be, so long as it was gleaned along the line of some decent, honest work, made me begin this book.
-Jacob Riis, Preface to How The Other Half Lives

Not Just a Photographer
Although Riis is often associated with these haunting images of poverty, it’s worth noting that he wasn’t always the one holding the camera. Assistants, including police officer Sergeant James E. Forbes, often took the photographs, especially in high-risk areas. Forbes also helped Riis gain access to locations that were otherwise difficult to enter.
What made Riis stand out was his vision. He viewed photography not as a craft, but as a tool to support his message. He said, “I am a writer and a newspaper man.” The photographs served his greater purpose: to draw attention to inequality and motivate social reform.

The method they used was called Blitzlicht, a primitive form of flash photography that involved igniting magnesium powder and potassium chlorate. It was a dangerous and unpredictable process, but it allowed Riis and his team to light up the dim, airless rooms and alleyways where the city’s poorest lived. Without natural light, these spaces were nearly impossible to photograph. The results, while often rough around the edges, were groundbreaking. Suddenly, the invisible poor of New York had faces.

How the Other Half Lives and Its Impact
In 1890, Riis published How the Other Half Lives, combining his writing with carefully chosen photographs. The book painted a vivid picture of life in the city’s overcrowded tenements, using visual evidence to support his urgent call for change.
One of the most well-known images from the book is Bandit’s Roost, which depicts a group of men in a narrow alley in Mulberry Bend. Though there’s some debate about whether Riis took the photo himself, it captured precisely the message he wanted to convey: that New York’s slums were not only impoverished but also neglected and unsafe.

A Powerful Ally: Theodore Roosevelt
Riis’ work caught the attention of a rising public figure, Theodore Roosevelt, then New York City’s Police Commissioner. Roosevelt admired Riis’ dedication and sought him out personally. “I have read your book,” he said, “and I have come to help.”

Together, they worked to improve conditions in the tenements, pushing for better housing laws and sanitation standards. Their partnership helped translate Riis’ journalism into tangible policy changes, proving the power of media in shaping public life.

Lasting Legacy
Jacob Riis died in 1914, but his influence continues. His book inspired a wave of reforms and opened the public’s eyes to the importance of housing, public health, and urban planning. His images remain iconic, not for their composition, but for the truths they revealed.
Riis once wrote, “The world forgets easily, too easily, what it does not like to remember.” Thanks to his work, some of those forgotten stories — of hardship, of resilience, and of determination — were preserved and shared.
His journey from a young Danish immigrant with a dream to one of America’s leading voices for change is a reminder that storytelling, in any form, can be a powerful force for good.



















Sources
Museum of the City of New York – Jacob Riis Collection
Library of Congress – Jacob Riis Papers
Project Gutenberg – How the Other Half Lives
The Gilder Lehrman Institute – Biography of Jacob Riis
National Park Service – Theodore Roosevelt & Jacob Riis
Written by Holland.
Editor, UtterlyInteresting.com — exploring the strange and forgotten corners of history.