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Brownstones are rowhouses, named for the brown-colored sandstone with which they're faced. Tenements are the old-style apartment buildings, usually walkups.
tenement: a run-down apartment house barely meeting minimal standards
tenement is not an exactly flattering term to use....i'm not sure of the origin of the word, but google "five points"+"manhattan" when you get a chance.
brownstone: A type of building characterized by the reddish-brown facing on the exterior. A common type of residence in New York that has come to be closely associated with the city. nineteenth-century-style row house, with up to five storeys and a front stoop, verandah or porch leading up to the front door. One to six floors. No doorman. Built in the early 1900s as single family homes and many were converted during World War II to create multiple apartments (3-10 units per building.)
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"The man who sleeps on the floor, can never fall out of bed." -Martin Lawrence
The early NYC apts had cold running water coming through the faucets but not hot water. Since most early tenement dwellers were from agricultural areas of the world, where they had to get water from a well or a spring. This was an acceptable and easier way to get water. Heating your own water on the stove was something they were used to.
Incidentally, if you're interested, there's actually a Tenement Museum on the Lower East Side, dedicated to preserving this slice of life here in the city.
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