Any real New Yorker knows that part of living here means gawking at beautiful apartments you’ll probably never be able to see, let alone live in. As a part of their Digital Collections, The New York Public Library has released a set of luxury floorpans from early 20th Century New York apartment buildings. The documents illustrate the first blueprints of modern apartment living in the city as the middle and upper classes shifted away from owning private houses. The layouts are beautiful and a true gem for any NYC history or residential real estate buff, from The NYPL:
Until shortly after the Civil War the well to do in New York City lived in private houses, and only the working class and the poor lived in multiple dwellings. By 1870 “French flats” had been introduced as a new concept in middle class living. They were distinguished from the tenement houses of the lower classes by amenities such as parlors, separate dining rooms, a small servant’s room, and indoor plumbing. For further contrast, they also bore names adopted from French, English, and American cultural and historical sources. The apartment concept proved to be attractive and by 1900 half of the middle class were living in multiple dwelling units.
Adafruit publishes a wide range of writing and video content, including interviews and reporting on the maker market and the wider technology world. Our standards page is intended as a guide to best practices that Adafruit uses, as well as an outline of the ethical standards Adafruit aspires to. While Adafruit is not an independent journalistic institution, Adafruit strives to be a fair, informative, and positive voice within the community – check it out here: adafruit.com/editorialstandards
Stop breadboarding and soldering – start making immediately! Adafruit’s Circuit Playground is jam-packed with LEDs, sensors, buttons, alligator clip pads and more. Build projects with Circuit Playground in a few minutes with the drag-and-drop MakeCode programming site, learn computer science using the CS Discoveries class on code.org, jump into CircuitPython to learn Python and hardware together, TinyGO, or even use the Arduino IDE. Circuit Playground Express is the newest and best Circuit Playground board, with support for CircuitPython, MakeCode, and Arduino. It has a powerful processor, 10 NeoPixels, mini speaker, InfraRed receive and transmit, two buttons, a switch, 14 alligator clip pads, and lots of sensors: capacitive touch, IR proximity, temperature, light, motion and sound. A whole wide world of electronics and coding is waiting for you, and it fits in the palm of your hand.
Have an amazing project to share? The Electronics Show and Tell is every Wednesday at 7:30pm ET! To join, head over to YouTube and check out the show’s live chat and our Discord!
