NEGRO TENEMENTS

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 1001, 18 June 1930, Page 6

NEGRO TENEMENTS

HUGE NEW YORK DWELLINGS SOLVING CIVIC PROBLEMS A most interesting block of tenement dwellings has been awarded the first prize o£_ tlie New York Chapter of the American Institute of Architects for tlie best apartment built in Netv York, and not served by lifts, in the year 1927 (says the “Builder”)This is the Paul Lawrence Dunbar apartments, the first systematic attempt in the world to provide good housing for the New York negro popu lation of 250,000 persons. In order to relieve the existing overcrowding, Mr. John D. Rockefeller, junr., decided to build an entire block of apartments for negroes, and selected Mr. Andrew J. Thomas to prepare the plans. The apartments accommodate about 2,000 people, and are sold to negroes on the co-operative system. Those who w r ish to take advantage of the facilities have to put down approximately £lO a room. After that they have to pay 25s every week. This covers not only the rates and upkeep, but payments for the purchase of the fiat. This rental is lower than that of similar apartments in the neighbourhood, and further, if he pays regularly, the tenant becomes the owner at the end of 22 years. There are six separate buildings in the project, five and six storeys, in height, containing a total of 2,392 rooms. The buildings are so laid out that they are only two rooms deep, thus affording ample sunlight and fresh air. The style has been devel oped with the use of Renaissance with details of Spanish influence. A harmonious effect has been secured with the simple materials of brick, limestone, terracotta, and wrought iron. Holland varicolour brick, which has a warm tone, has been employed so as to form a suitable background to the garden shrubbery. The interiors of the apartments are well lighted and reasonably spacious. The walls are painted in light colours. The flooring is of oak, while the bath rooms have tiled floors. The apartments comprise: three rooms; three and a-half (the half paom being a dining space, which enables the family to dispense with using a whole room for dining purposes, or the necessity of resorting to the livingroom); four rooms; four and a-half; five; six; and seven. The ceilings are are Bft lin in height, a factor -which materially reduces the amount of stair climbing necessary to reach the upper stories of the building. One of the most attractive features of the planning is the interior garden, laid out with trees, lawns and walks, with shrubberies on each side. Only about 49 per cent, of the site is occupied by buildings and the remainder by the garden. In the middle of this there is a fair-sized playground with swings and other recreational equip? ment.

ORIGINAL CABARET

VENICE COMES TO PARIS NIGHT LIFE IN FRANCE Auckland goes to bed at midnight—as a rule. There are cabarets, but no night clubs or American bars here. Perhaps that is why the Aucklander abroad is so foi-cibly struck by the night life of big cities. Pai'is, ever the centre of gaiety, boasts one of the most original cabarets in the world. It is the “Lido” half way down the Champs Elysees. One goes down a short staircase, a heavy plush curtain is held aside, and behold—Venice! At the far end of the big scarlet and gold room the translucent green water of a long marble swimming bath glimmers, and the murmur of running water forms a continuous accompaniment to. music softly played by a band in Italian costume. On either side of the bath are discreet creeper-covered alcoves for those who wish to watch the swimmers. At about 10 o’clock a jazz baud takes the place of the Italian boatmen, and the dancing begins. For the tango, which is still the most popular dance on the Continent, a third band, In Argentine costume, plays the haunting South American melodies which the slow and graceful movements of the tango fit so well. The luxury of the “Lido” is almost Incredible. Apart from the perfectly j equipped little cabins for the bathers, and the comfortable American bar, the [ whole floor below the restaurant is given to the most elaborate Turkish j baths. Beauty Parlours There until 3 a.m. every imaginable j form of steam bath is at the disposal of those who feel so inclined. In the dimly-lighted “salons de repos” those who have finished tlieir treatment lie and contemplate their good fortune on divans as soft as they are beautiful. These Turkish baths are for men only, but the women are not neglected. In superb beauty parlours experts apply all the latest methods of beauty culture. If, after her midnight swim, my ladj 7 ’s hair has lost some of its curl, and her complexion some of its freshness, she has but to pass through the glass door labelled “Salon de Beaute” in order to recapture her vanished charm. The most effective turn of the cabaret show takes place after midnight. The lights are turned down. The Venetian bridge that spans the swimming pool is in faint relief against a background of lighted palace windows.

Prom the distance a gondola is steered down the length of the transformed swimming-bath. Its occupants, a man and a woman, sing the words of a barcarole played by the boatmen musicians, who serenaded the diners earlier in the evening. It is with a sense of disillusion that one passes, in the small hours, from the warmth of the “Lido” into the raw night-air of the Champs Elysees, and steps from the muddy pavement into a taxi, instead of descending a flight of spacious marble steps into a slender gondola floating on the moonlit waters of a lagoon. Gone is Venice, the City of the Doges and Komance, and one is back in Paris, the City of Pleasure.