Nowandthen

“and there is one quarter, commonly called the Five Points, which, in respect of filth and wretchedness, may be safely backed against Seven Dials, or any other part of famed St. Giles.” -Dickens (From American Notes for General Circulation, pg.51)

Five Points, seen aerially in the black and white photo, was a slum whose name originated from the meeting of three streets; Cross (Mosco St.), Anthony (Worth) and Orange (Baxter). I was inspired to find out more about Five Points after seeing Gangs of New York. The two color pictures are photos I took today. The first is the street signs that read Baxter and Worth, the second being a picture of the plaque in Columbus Park (previously the slums of Five Points). Five Points is one of the many places that Dicken’s touched upon in his scathing review of New York City.  Although Dickens describe the area in terms of filth and wretchedness, Whitman wrote in the Aurora in 1842 that the people who lived there were “…not paupers and criminals, but the Republic’s most needed asset, the wealth of stout poor men who will work.” (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/whitman/map/4.html#location) This is yet another example of the insider/ outsider and positive/negative dichotomy of Whitman’s and Dickens’ reviews of New York City.

“and there is one quarter, commonly called the Five Points, which, in respect of filth and wretchedness, may be safely backed against Seven Dials, or any other part of famed St. Giles.” -Dickens (From American Notes for General Circulation, pg.51)

Five Points, seen aerially in the black and white photo, was a slum whose name originated from the meeting of three streets; Cross (Mosco St.), Anthony (Worth) and Orange (Baxter). I was inspired to find out more about Five Points after seeing Gangs of New York. The two color pictures are photos I took today. The first is the street signs that read Baxter and Worth, the second being a picture of the plaque in Columbus Park (previously the slums of Five Points). Five Points is one of the many places that Dicken’s touched upon in his scathing review of New York City.  Although Dickens describe the area in terms of filth and wretchedness, Whitman wrote in the Aurora in 1842 that the people who lived there were “…not paupers and criminals, but the Republic’s most needed asset, the wealth of stout poor men who will work.”  http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/whitman/map…) This is yet another example of the insider/ outsider and positive/negative dichotomy of Whitman’s and Dickens’ reviews of New York City.

“and there is one quarter, commonly called the Five Points, which, in respect of filth and wretchedness, may be safely backed against Seven Dials, or any other part of famed St. Giles.” -Dickens (From American Notes for General Circulation, pg.51)

Five Points, seen aerially in the black and white photo, was a slum whose name originated from the meeting of three streets; Cross (Mosco St.), Anthony (Worth) and Orange (Baxter). I was inspired to find out more about Five Points after seeing Gangs of New York. The two color pictures are photos I took today. The first is the street signs that read Baxter and Worth, the second being a picture of the plaque in Columbus Park (previously the slums of Five Points). Five Points is one of the many places that Dicken’s touched upon in his scathing review of New York City.  Although Dickens describe the area in terms of filth and wretchedness, Whitman wrote in the Aurora in 1842 that the people who lived there were “…not paupers and criminals, but the Republic’s most needed asset, the wealth of stout poor men who will work.” (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/whitman/map/4.html#location) This is yet another example of the insider/ outsider and positive/negative dichotomy of Whitman’s and Dickens’ reviews of New York City.

“and there is one quarter, commonly called the Five Points, which, in respect of filth and wretchedness, may be safely backed against Seven Dials, or any other part of famed St. Giles.” -Dickens (From American Notes for General Circulation, pg.51)

Five Points, seen aerially in the black and white photo, was a slum whose name originated from the meeting of three streets; Cross (Mosco St.), Anthony (Worth) and Orange (Baxter). I was inspired to find out more about Five Points after seeing Gangs of New York. The two color pictures are photos I took today. The first is the street signs that read Baxter and Worth, the second being a picture of the plaque in Columbus Park (previously the slums of Five Points). Five Points is one of the many places that Dicken’s touched upon in his scathing review of New York City.  Although Dickens describe the area in terms of filth and wretchedness, Whitman wrote in the Aurora in 1842 that the people who lived there were “…not paupers and criminals, but the Republic’s most needed asset, the wealth of stout poor men who will work.” (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/whitman/map/4.html#location) This is yet another example of the insider/ outsider and positive/negative dichotomy of Whitman’s and Dickens’ reviews of New York City.