Jacob Riis and the Photographs That Changed New York

Holland
Jul 27
6 min read

Updated: 3 days ago

Crowded room with several people resting on beds, curled up under blankets. A stove, pots, and hanging items are visible, creating a cluttered scene. — Jacob Riis, “Lodgers in a Crowded Bayard Street Tenement–‘Five Cents a Spot'”

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.

Three men in dark clothing stand and sit in a worn, empty room with peeling white walls. The mood is somber and tense. — The Church Street Station Lodging-room, in which I [Jacob A. Riis] was robbed.

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

Cover of "How the Other Half Lives" by Jacob A. Riis, showing an illustration of tenement buildings and children huddled together above the title. — Original Cover of 1890 edition

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.

Map of lower Manhattan, 1899, showing Mulberry Bend, Chinatown, and Five Points. Black and white with street names and numbered plots. — A map of the area Jacob Riis surveyed while collecting material for How the Other Half Lives.

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.”

Narrow alley with people standing and sitting, clothes hanging above. Brick buildings on both sides create a crowded, urban scene. — Bandit’s Roost by Jacob Riis, New York, 1888

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.

A shirtless man sits on a bunk in a dimly lit, cluttered room, examining an object. The setting appears rustic and bare, evoking a somber mood. — Lodger in Pell Street 7 cents lodging house (Happy Jack’s Canvas Palace) going to bed.

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

Children seated in a dimly lit, rustic room with a wood stove and hanging clothes. Mood appears somber with mostly neutral expressions. — Talmud School on Hester Street

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.

Five people sit in a dim, rustic room. One rests head on table, others appear weary. Dark clothing, somber atmosphere, no visible text. — Tenement yard

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.

Children stand on stairs and sit by sacks in a narrow alleyway. The setting is urban, with wooden and brick buildings. Mood is somber. — Baxter Street

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.

Dim interior of a brick-walled room with rows of empty, suspended canvas bunks and wooden beams. The atmosphere is stark and somber.

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.”

Children play in a dim courtyard with laundry hanging above. A woman and more children are nearby. The mood is somber and timeless. — Tenement Yard

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.

Busy street scene with people, horse-drawn carriages, and brick buildings. Vendors and pedestrians fill the cobblestone road. Black-and-white photo. — Mulberry bend

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.

Three people in a dim room; one sits on a barrel looking serious, another leans on the wall, and the third is covered. Worn wallpaper. — An African American man seated on a whiskey keg flanked by two women in a “Black and Tan” dive bar on Broome Street near Wooster Street.

Dimly lit room with peeling wallpaper, a woman seated and a man standing at a doorway. Sparse furniture includes a small stool and sofa. — A Flat in the Pauper Barracks, West Thirty-eighth Street, with all its Furniture.

Child in an old hallway leans against wall near pump, with worn floorboards and pipes, evoking a somber, historical atmosphere. — Baby in slum tenement, dark stairs–its playground.

Woman holding a child stands by a rundown shack; three men sit nearby. Brick walls surround the sunlit, worn courtyard, evoking hardship. — A woman holding a child, and men sitting in a rear yard of a Jersey Street tenement.

A family of four sits in a dimly lit, rustic room with peeling walls, lit by an oil lamp. A basket and simple furnishings create a somber mood. — In Poverty Gap, West Twenty-Eighth St. An English Coal-Heaver’s Home.

Elderly woman sits in a small, cluttered room, sewing clothes by a window. Black and white photo with an atmosphere of solitude. — Old Mrs. Benoit in her Hudson Street attic, an Indian widow who lived there four years.

Man sewing at a machine in a dimly lit room with children nearby. The room is cluttered with objects and has a small piece of furniture. — Bohemian cigar makers at work in their tenement.

Three children sleep on a street beside a wooden wall, resting against a barrel in a somber setting. Steps and a chair are visible nearby. — "Street Arabs" — night, Boys in sleeping quarter.

Bearded man in a rustic room sits by a table with food. A hat hangs above. Wooden shelves and tools fill the dim background. Nostalgic mood. — Ready for Sabbath Eve in a Coal Cellar – a cobbler in Ludlow Street.

Man lying on sacks on barrels in a dim, rustic wooden and brick room. The mood is somber, with scattered debris on the floor. — “Slept in that cellar four years.”

Two children sit on a chair in a rustic setting. Motion blur of a person in a long coat suggests movement. A moody, vintage scene. — Minding the baby; Baby yells a Whirlwind Scream, Gotham Court.

Woman sitting in a room holding a baby. Surroundings include barrels, a ladder, sacks, and a hat on the wall. Sepia tone, rustic setting. — In the home of an Italian Ragpicker, Jersey Street.

Group of men and a child in a workshop. The child, seated in front, wears a cap. Fabric piles lie nearby. Mood is industrious. — “12 year old boy at work pulling threads. Had sworn certificate he was 16 — owned under cross-examination to being 12. His teeth corresponded with that age.”

Five people sewing in a cluttered room with worn furniture. Sunlight through windows, hanging lamp, framed picture on wall. — “Knee-pants” at forty five cents a dozen — A Ludlow Street Sweater’s Shop.

Man in dark clothing reclines on a bed in a dim room, while another stands nearby holding a pipe. A tray with a teapot is on the left. — Chinese Opium Joint.

People in a crowded courtyard with laundry hanging above. A woman on stairs, children and adults gathered below. Urban setting, brick walls. — Court at No. 24 Baxter Street.

Children and two men stand by a wooden wall. A girl sits on a bucket, a boy stands, both in worn clothes. Chalk writing on the wall. Urban setting. — Two Greek children in Gotham Court debating if Santa Claus will get to their alley or not. He did.

A child in a dark coat and knit hat stands against a brick wall, hands clasped. The setting appears old, with a wooden door visible. — “I Scrubs.” Katie , who keeps house in West Forty-ninth Street.

Poster of Jacob A. Riis as a lecturer for "The Battle with the Slum." Features a black-and-white portrait and event details on a dark background. — “The Battle with the Slum” poster for Riis lecture.

Sources

Museum of the City of New York – Jacob Riis Collection

https://collections.mcny.org

Library of Congress – Jacob Riis Papers

https://www.loc.gov/collections/jacob-riis-papers/

Project Gutenberg – How the Other Half Lives

https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/45502

The Gilder Lehrman Institute – Biography of Jacob Riis

https://www.gilderlehrman.org/explore-civil-war-era/jacob-riis

National Park Service – Theodore Roosevelt & Jacob Riis

https://www.nps.gov/articles/jacob-riis-and-theodore-roosevelt.htm

Written by Holland.

Editor, UtterlyInteresting.com — exploring the strange and forgotten corners of history.

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4 days ago

"[…] Riis and his team used an early form of flash photography known as Blitzlicht. […]"

Sorry but that sentence is nonsense: "Blitzlicht" is simply the German word for the flash light part of "flash photography", and always was and still is the "normal" word for that.

The (real) old part is the method via magnesium powder, the word itself is as up to date as it can be. (see also Wikipedia [German] https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blitzlicht )