Monday, July 9, 2018

Life before air-conditioning

“Broadway had open trolleys with no side walls, in which you at least caught the breeze, hot though it was, so that desperate people, unable to endure their apartments, would simply pay a nickel and ride around aimlessly for a couple of hours to cool off”: in 1998, Arthur Miller wrote for The New Yorker about life before air-conditioning.

See also 99% Invisible on “thermal delight.”

comments: 1

Daughter Number Three said...

Makes me think of the vaporettos in Venice... worth riding just to cool off, too, though much more expensive.