Existing comment:
Know NYC
34th Street District
Webster Apartments
In the early 1900s, women seeking work flocked to New York. Reformers, fearing for the safety of young women living on their own, worked to provide them with safe housing.
Funded by a bequest from a Macy's vice president, the Webster, still operating today at 419 West 34th Street, opened in 1923. It offered many amenities -- including a roof deck, dining room, library, infirmary, sewing rooms, and laundries -- so that, in theory, residents would not be tempted to venture beyond the safety of its walls. |