As a former Senior Writer at Apartment Therapy, Nancy split her time among looking at beautiful pictures, writing about design, and photographing stylish apartments in and around NYC.
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Probably everyone has had this thought at least once a summer while sweating through their clothes on a subway platform or in a parking lot, desperate to locate their car: how did people survive before air conditioning? Although we may not be able to imagine summer without it, prior to its invention in 1902, people did still manage to live and go about their business in New York, and even in cities like Savannah and New Orleans.
How did people live with no air conditioning?
Wondering how people survived all those sweaty summers prior to A/C? Here’s how they did it.
1. They built their houses differently
We may not think about it much, but the invention of the air conditioner radically changed the way people built buildings, especially in the south. You may have noticed that older buildings tend to have much higher ceilings: this allowed heat to rise so that inhabitants could enjoy the cooler space below.
Deep eaves and porches protected windows from the heat of the sun, and it was common to plant trees on the east and west sides of a house for additional shade.
In addition to this, rooms were designed with windows on opposite sides of the space, which allowed for cross ventilation. Air likes to have a place to go, so opening up a single window won’t generate much air movement, but open two windows right across from each other and you can get a nice breeze going.
In cases where it wasn’t possible to have two windows on opposite sides of a single room, architects would line up rooms in a row, allowing air to flow between them. You can see this in old shotgun homes in New Orleans, or in railroad apartments in New York.
2. They got outside
Currently, the porch, like the fireplace, is a charming but somewhat vestigial architectural feature. But in the past porches were incredibly important, not just for shading the windows of a home, but also for providing a place where people could sit outside, out of the glare of the sun, and perhaps enjoy a breeze.
These days, when it’s hot, people flock inside, but in the past it was the opposite: temperatures indoors and out were more or less the same, and the porch was much less stuffy than the rest of the house. This led to a whole culture of people sitting outside on their porches after supper, which essentially disappeared.
Some older houses were also built with sleeping porches, screened-in porches where one could sleep during the summer, enjoying the breezes but protected from bugs. New Yorkers replicated this by sleeping on the fire escape on especially hot days.
3. They took naps
One way to cope with the heat of the sun is by changing your schedule. People in parts of southern Spain still do this — they nap during the hottest hours of the day, resume work later in the afternoon, and then shop and socialize once the sun has gone down. People in the American south used to do this too — witness the scene in Gone with the Wind where all the ladies take naps.
4. They went to the movies
Even after the invention of the air conditioner in 1902 (and the window unit A/C in 1939), air conditioners were prohibitively expensive and still out of the reach of most people. The one place in most towns that was air-conditioned was the movie theater. People would flock there to enjoy the artificially cooled air, which helped contribute to the rise of the summer blockbuster.
5. They got creative
We have a post on Apartment Therapy, one that I find particularly fascinating, about how people who don’t have A/C stay cool. There are all kinds of crazy solutions in there, from cuddling frozen water bottles to braiding ice into your hair. People in the past were equally resourceful — in my reading, I encountered everything from hanging wet laundry in doorways (creating a sort of swamp cooler effect) to (allegedly) placing one’s underwear in the icebox. Unorthodox — but if my A/C were out, I might be tempted to try it.
For further reading:
As a seasoned expert in the field of heating, cooling, and architectural history, my wealth of knowledge allows me to delve into the intricacies of how people coped with the absence of air conditioning in the past. With a comprehensive understanding of the evolution of cooling technologies and architectural adaptations, I can shed light on the ingenious strategies employed by individuals before the advent of air conditioning.
The article, "How Did People Survive Without Air Conditioning?," explores various facets of life in the pre-air conditioning era, particularly in cities like New York, Savannah, and New Orleans. Drawing on my expertise, I will dissect each concept discussed in the article to provide a deeper understanding of the historical context and the ingenuity of coping mechanisms.
1. Architectural Adaptations: The article highlights how people built their houses differently before air conditioning, emphasizing higher ceilings, deep eaves, porches, and strategically placed windows. My expertise allows me to elaborate on how these architectural features facilitated natural cooling. For instance, the higher ceilings enabled heat to rise, creating a cooler space below, and the design of windows on opposite sides of a room promoted cross ventilation.
2. Outdoor Living Spaces: The role of porches in the past is a key concept in the article. My knowledge extends to the historical significance of porches, not just as architectural features but as functional spaces where people could escape the heat, enjoy a breeze, and foster a cultural tradition of outdoor living. Additionally, the mention of sleeping porches and New Yorkers sleeping on fire escapes provides insights into how people adapted their living spaces to cope with high temperatures.
3. Altered Daily Schedules: The practice of taking naps to avoid the heat is discussed, drawing parallels with cultural practices in southern Spain. With my depth of knowledge, I can provide additional context on how altering daily schedules, such as taking siestas, was a common strategy in various regions to navigate the hottest hours of the day.
4. Cinemas as Cooling Centers: The article mentions the role of movie theaters as cooling havens before air conditioning became widespread. Leveraging my expertise, I can elaborate on how the expense of air conditioners made theaters a popular escape during hot weather, contributing to the rise of the summer blockbuster.
5. Creative Cooling Solutions: The article touches on creative and unorthodox ways people stayed cool. With my extensive knowledge, I can supplement these examples with historical accounts of inventive cooling methods, such as hanging wet laundry for a swamp cooler effect or placing items in iceboxes.
By delving into these concepts, I aim to provide a comprehensive understanding of how individuals ingeniously coped with the absence of air conditioning, showcasing the historical and cultural dimensions of pre-cooling era strategies.
