For my project #4, I chose to evaluate the bathroom of the Greenbelt house to my bathroom. There are many differences and similarites between the two bathrooms.
By the 20th century, American cities became grimy with industrial pollution. Waste and sewage killed and polluted the rivers. Railroads destroyed all the waterfronts and automobiles took over the open spaces that were once reserved for people. Some of the people were tired of living is such living conditions that they wanted an alternative living environment for the urban working class. 12 miles northeast of Washington D.C. was chosen as the site for the first Greenbelt town. Planners noted that the site was free of development and not in the way of expensive new residential subdivisions.
Preliminary reports described the purpose of the Greenbelt town program as providing work relief, low cost housing, and long term community planning.
" I have seen the blueprints of this project and have been greatly interested, but the actual sight itself exceeds anything I have dreamed of. This is a real achievement and I wish everyone in the country could see it", President Roosevelt said when he toured Greenbelt.
The plan called for a new town of 1,996 acres of land. It's elements include neighborhood units defined by superblocks with interior parks and walkways, separation of pedestrian and vehicular circulation, and houses facing inward to the parks. This reason was for security and the ability to watch the children as they played.
" Greenbelt is a special place. It is a feeling held strongly by those who have lived and worked here, by those who have followed the city's rich history, and by those who respect its significant place in the development of community planning", (The City Council of Greenbelt).
The houses are mostly in rows of two, four, six, or eight units. Each unit is approximately 17 feet wide, 23 feet deep, and 2 stories tall. The homes are made of brick and block.
The early Greenbeltians were carefully selected. The initial requirements in 1937 limited the annual income between 800 and 2200 dollars. The government set quotas so that the town population would reflect the proportions of government and non government workers and the various denominations in the Washington D.C. area. Blacks were excluded. Families had to show a need for housing and had to demonstrate a cooperative, energetic spirit and willingness to contribute to the town. Informal inspections were sometimes made of applicants' homes.
Besides the income requirements, the government had specific rules about the number of people who could live in a house or apartment. If a family had more than one child, the family were required to live in a two-three bedroom house. The rent ranged from $37.50-$41.00 a month.
Such requirements would illustrate that the people of Greenbelt were in desperate need for housing that focus on the family well-being. The people didn't mind the requirements. To them, the houses of Greenbelt were all the imagined-spacious and comfortable. Although today, those houses would be considered extremely small and not in date.
I have lived in Olney, Maryland for about ten years. Over the past couple of years, Olney has become more populated and more developed. It went from being farm land to being a still-developing community. When my family and I first moved to Olney it seemed more like the country that a populated city. But now things have changed drastically. Houses, town houses, and apartments have been springing up every day, bringing along many new people who are looking for a nice, quiet community to raise kids. Although the majority of people living in Olney are with families, the wide range of living spaces attracts a wide range of people -with or without families.
There are many differences between the Greenbelt community and the Olney community. In Greenbelt, their community was carefully planned for the encouragement of families. The planners wanted the community to be family centered. Olney, on the other hand, was not so carefully planned. Olney went from farm life to community life based just on the consumer demand. As more and more people started migrating into Olney, they began enjoying it's rich country-like appearance. And more houses were built and sold. Anyone one who had the money to by any of the living spaces were assured the space, not depending on the character of the person. Which leads me to another difference. People who move into Olney are not screened as was in the Greenbelt community. There are not specific quotas that the people of Olney has to pass in order to move in. One need not have a family. Olney is open to whoever wants to move in.
Olney houses also differs from the Greenbelt houses. My house is four stories. The first floor, usually known as the basement, is roughly the floor size of the house. This area is used for storage and laundry purposes. The second floor consists of the kitchen, dining and living rooms, the family room, a foyer, and a library. The third floor consists of the bedrooms for the family. And finally, the fourth floor is the attic. These aspects differ from the Greenbelt's houses which were only two stories.
Greenbelt also discriminated against blacks. Although it were the blacks who had helped to make the Greenbelt community, they were not permitted to move in. Olney on the other hand encourages an interracial community.
Another difference is the construction of the two neighborhoods. Since the Greenbelt community was family centered, they designed their neighborhood to illustrate this concept. The houses were built surrounding the parks, for security and protection in watching the children play. The neighborhood also consisted of interwinding pathways throughout the whole neighborhood which allowed the adults and children to take safer alternative means of getting around the city, as opposed to traveling on the busy streets. Olney, on the contrary, does not follow such an elaborate structure. Olney has sidewalks but one time or another, one will have to cross the busy streets. Only recently has the developers of Olney increased the number of walkways throughout the city.
Despite the many differences, there are also some similarities. Both living spaces are some-what family based. Both communities have recreational areas that encourage the family unit to have fun. Both areas have parks for the children to play. They also both have indoor and outdoor swimming pools for adults and children. They have libraries for everyone's educational purposes and have little museums to learn more about each of the cities. Both areas also have inspections of the living space. In Greenbelt, informal inspections were sometimes made of applicants' homes to assess their cleanliness and pride in their surroundings. In Olney, the Home Owners Association(H.O.A) inspects the surroundings of the living space making sure everything is right. Like Greenbelt, there are certain rules that Olney has to obey. The people of Olney are not permitted to do any changes to one's home without permission of the H.O.A.
The bathrooms in Greenbelt were small and quaint. They appeared simple and comfortable with very little to no decorations. The plainess of the bathroom can suggest that society at that time was not obsessed with beauty and appearences. The point of being simple and plain yet conservative was easily understood through the features of the bathroom.
These small bathrooms contain all the basic necessities of the household. It has a bathtub, a sink, a mirror cabinet, and a toilet. All of which are the color of pearl white. Since there was a bathtub, the people had to take baths as the only way of cleaning the body. Where as today, most bathrooms have showers and baths which gives the homeowner the choice of taking a shower or a bath. Since only baths were available, this suggests that the people had to spend more time in the bathroom. Waiting for the water of fill the tub requires plenty of time.
The bathtub looks
similar to what it looks like today. Although today, there is also a
shower attachment inside. One can also see the plainess in the bathroom.
There are no decorations.
The square sink is very small and plain. There are two silver facets which delivers cold and warm water. The homeowner would have to stop-up the sink and allow both the hot and cold water to fill in order to assess warm water. This must have been a hassle. Today, we have only one facet which delivers hot and cold water with the simple turn of the knob. If one wanted warm water, just center the knob in the middle. The mirror cabinet is located over the sink. The cabinet was convenient in assessing all the bathroom needs such as shaving cream, face cleansers, and soap. The mirror served dual purposes such as for vanity and as a great disguise for storage. The toilet looks similar to the way it looks today although it appeared a bit smaller.
Since a family of three were expected to share such a small bathroom, it is assumed that not much time was spent in the bathroom. The time was spent strictly on washing and hygiene. Today, we have many bathrooms around the house for convenience and vanity. This feature allows the focus to be both for vanity and hygiene.
My bathroom is a big bathroom made for a family of three to four children. Like the Greenbelt bathroom, it has a bathtub, a sink, and toilet, which are the most important aspects of the bathroom. In today's society, we too are obsessed and concerned with cleanliness and proper hygiene.
There are some differences between the Greenbelt bathroom and my bathroom. Unlike the Greenbelt bathroom, my bathroom has a shower and a bath. This gives the person the choice of cleaning the body the way he or she wishes. A shower allows the person to stand up while bathing. There is an overhead steel head which releases water over the person. Today, showers are more common for cleansing the body. It is considered a quick and easy alternative. Baths usually take up more time because one has to wait for the water to fill the tub before the bath is ready. This concept also reflects our present society. We are conerned with time. Today, time is precious and one can't seem to get enough time. Taking showers demonstrates this point further of quick alternatives.
Surrounding about three quarters of the tub is a cream colored tile. The tile is a very popular feature because it allows the water to run straight down into the tub. The entrance of the tub is then surrounded by glass doors. This feature protects the outside of the bathroom from getting wet.
Since my house was probably built for a family of three or more, my bathroom reflects this. By bathroom has two sinks which makes it possible for two people to clean at one time. My whole sink is probably four times the length of the Greenbelt bathroom's sink and is more decorative. It is marbleized with a cream and white swirl. This gives the bathroom a rich and pretty outlook. The facets are the color of rich gold which also gives my bathroom an elite outlook. My bathroom does not have the mirror cabinet like the Greenbelt bathroom but it does have two double door wooden cabinets also useful for storage. Above the cabinets are four square wooden drawers that glide out for storage. Above the sink is a wall covering mirror that extends the distance of the sink.
My bathroom as a whole is more decorative than the Greenbelt's bathroom. In today's society, we are concerned with appearances and beauty. My bathroom reflects this judgement. The walls are covered with flower colored wall paper and the tile floors are covered with blue rugs.
There were many differences and similarities between my bathroom and Greenbelt's bathroom. But despite the differences of our society, neighborhood, and house, our main purpose for the use of the bathroom remains to be for hygienic purposes and for place that is private and sacred. In some cases, some people would probably agree with me that the bathroom is the most important place in the house.
I enjoyed reading Daphne Pee's project4. She discussed an important topic of how today's kitchen is different from Greenbelt's kitchen because it allows much more activity. In Greenbelt in the 1930's, the family and dining rooms were the focus of discussion. But today the focus is in the kitchen. I agree with her on this. In my family, this holds true. Most of the discussion between the family is in the kitchen.
Amy McGarry's project4 was also well done. Her analysis of closet space was very true. Closets are our way of storing "junk". I don't know what I would do without closet space. But although we do have closets, it never seems like enough.
Harmony Loube's evaluation of women's roles over the past years was alos very good. In her project4, she explained how the roles of woman in the household have changed throughout the years. I agree that it hasd significantly. Today, women have many successful jobs that were once occupied by men. Women have come a long way for their independence, which is well deserved.
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