What Happened To Boarding Houses?

[Meerkat]

Anyone remember the boarding house?

The last boarding house I saw was in Atlantic Beach Florida. We rented a little cottage there in 1986 and our landlady had turned her big house into a boarding house. She had 6 boarders one couple, an ex engineer, FBI gut and a seperated from his wife playboy wannabe . The lady who ran the boarding house was really old and ask the playboy to rub her back she said he told her " if I rub your back I'd never be able to touch another woman".. Not nice but she thought it was funny enough to tell it at the table.
When I was young boarding houses were all over the place.
My mothers friend had one when she got old and did pretty good, she was also a great cook and cooked for her boarders. It was that house where I'd fight Butter Bean for being mean to dogs ,animals and a little black boy our age just walking down the street .
We also had private owned apartment house's back then too. Now it is all corporate owned apartment complexes.

 

[timmie]

i would think it would be to dangerous for a lady to run one of those now. just my 2cents worth.

 

[Weedygarden]

Anyone remember the boarding house?

The last boarding house I saw was in Atlantic Beach Florida. We rented a little cottage there in 1986 and our landlady had turned her big house into a boarding house. She had 6 boarders one couple, an ex engineer, FBI gut and a seperated from his wife playboy wannabe . The lady who ran the boarding house was really old and ask the playboy to rub her back she said he told her " if I rub your back I'd never be able to touch another woman".. Not nice but she thought it was funny enough to tell it at the table.
When I was young boarding houses were all over the place.
My mothers friend had one when she got old and did pretty good, she was also a great cook and cooked for her boarders. It was that house where I'd fight Butter Bean for being mean to dogs ,animals and a little black boy our age just walking down the street .
We also had private owned apartment house's back then too. Now it is all corporate owned apartment complexes.

I know that my 2,000 square foot home was once divided into 3 units during the 1930's. People did not have as much junk. People did not have as much means to have more. A room to sleep in was better than some of the options.

Back when boarding houses were common, there were not as many restaurants, or places to get a meal. I believe that breakfast and dinner came with living in boarding houses, and probably a sack lunch as well.

I have a number of ancestors and other relatives who ran boarding houses in Iowa, Chicago, California and other places. I come from a family of excellent cooks who also had many children. Being able to provide good meals would be important in order to keep your rooms full.

My grandparents both lived in boarding houses when they were young, living and working in a small Nebraska town. They lived across the street from one another. They walked down the same street, her, an accountant at the local bank, and him, a butcher at the meat market.

A relative in Iowa died in the 1880's, leaving a pregnant wife and 6 young children, all under the age of 10. His wife had short term help, living with a friend. She supported herself for a little while doing laundry. Then she ran boarding houses and eventually a hotel. Her children were surely her helpers. Census records show close to a dozen boarders at a time.

Boarding houses? I have thought that they could surely be full now, maybe with or without providing meals.

 

[Weedygarden]

i would think it would be to dangerous for a lady to run one of those now. just my 2cents worth.

There were many of my relatives who ran them where it involved a married couple. I think any business situation could be dangerous for a single woman.

 

[Meerkat]

i would think it would be to dangerous for a lady to run one of those now. just my 2cents worth.

Timmie your I'm sure your right. But in a nice hood it may be safe. Especially if you live near an airport in a good hood it may still work. But then some piece of entitled work may try to put a sue screw in it.

 

[hiwall]

Now they are called "bed and breakfast"

 

[Meerkat]

Now they are called "bed and breakfast"

Hiwall your right,I didn't think about those, but they are more on the vacation side than permanent but they are still here. And I bet some do rent to boarders too.

 

[dademoss]

Here is a short article on the decline of boarding houses: https://www.citylab.com/equity/2013/07/it-time-bring-back-boarding-house/6236/

"Around the turn of the last century, American cities were full of housing options that are largely nonexistent today: tenements, boarding houses, rooming houses, flop houses, single-room occupancy buildings or SROs – all variations on the idea of small living spaces at low cost. Some were rentable by the night. Some were built around shared amenities like showers and kitchens (or, as seen above, reading rooms). All of them contribute to our grainy picture of early urban America as over-crowded, flammable, and full of unscrupulous landlords.

By contrast, most American cities today regulate the low end of the studio market, setting it somewhere around a minimum of 400-square feet in size. Likewise, building codes set a ceiling on occupancy, capping the number of unrelated people who can room together under the same roof."

 

[tiffanysgallery]

My grandmother ran a boarding house after my grandfather became sick and then unemployed. They were both much older before she began the business. My mother told me she disliked men from the railroad coming and going to her home... I sure can understand that! My grandmother keep the boarding house running even after her husband passed away. The boarding house is still standing today but has been turned into a private residence.

There's an apartment complex downtown Nashville TN that has been in the news. The tenants are not happy because the new owners are turning some of the apartments into Airbnb's. Theses tenants also don't want strangers coming and going around their apartments so they're fighting with the new owners to keep the Airbnb's at bay. The tenants feel this change would not be good for them, their families, or their community, according to the TV news.

https://www.wkrn.com/news/nashville...rying-to-stop-transition-to-airbnb/1369161045

Most the the women I know that are divorced later in life go to work in senior care, call centers, online sells (ebay, esty), babysit grandchildren, Walmart greeting and such. So there seems to be better choices now then when my grandmother and even my mother lived and hopefully these jobs will still be available when I want or need to work at one.

 

[Meerkat]

Loss of Freedom of association has turned this nation into a hellhole for private property rights and who you can rent to or have as a neighbor.
The boarding houses I remember had rules and almost all had working men ' now and then women ' in them who mostly wore suits and tie's. Or they worked in factories or at airports. I'm sure their were what was known as flop houses where anything goes but I'm talking respectable boarding house's here.
Of course today if you tried to screen your tenants all the alphabet groups would sue your socks off and force you to take in refugees and head hunters from all over the world.

 

[tiffanysgallery]

The Walton's had an episode where John-Boy stayed in a boarding house. I don't remember it being fancy but it was $3 a week and own by Mrs. Butterworth.

My grandmothers boarding house was near Lexington KY and in that area there wasn't many boarding houses at that time. I don't know the details about zoning, but I know she kept busy cooking, cleaning and assisting others. My mother and my two uncles were put to work also. That maybe why my mother didn't care too much for it, lol.

 

[Weedygarden]

Now they are called "bed and breakfast"

They might have some similarities, but they are different. A bed and breakfast is usually a day or a few. They only include breakfast, usually, but no other meals. A person can live in the same room of a boarding house for much longer periods of time, usually with all of their few worldly goods. In my time in B & B's, it was just a suitcase or overnight bag, with a home located somewhere else.

 

[JAC]

I remember there used to be dining halls or dining rooms where a woman would cook meals and everyone sat around large tables together to eat. The bowls of food were passed around just like in your home dinner table with the family. My mom took me to one in Alabama once as a child. The food was excellent.
There is still one operating in Savannah Georgia. People start lining up in the morning to make sure they get a seat.

http://mrswilkes.com/

 

[Amish Heart]

One of my cousins does a "dinner" every 3 months or so. It's well attended, and tends to be a lot of the same large group of people with a few add ons here and there. They come in vans from a city about 45 minutes away. She was telling me that one time a very large woman ate so many homemade dinner rolls that she had to go sit on the porch steps and gets some air. They were worried about her. She just did one recently and I know the main dish was meatloaf, with mashed potatoes and gravy. She get specific pie requests. Raisin cream is one of them.

 

[Star_Chick]

What’s a boarding house?

 

[Weedygarden]

There is a house in my neighborhood that I have always thought was a boarding house at some point in time. I wanted to look at it with the idea of having a rooming house: rooms for rent, common kitchen and living room area. I never saw it for sale.

 

[Star_Chick]

There is a house in my neighborhood that I have always thought was a boarding house at some point in time. I wanted to look at it with the idea of having a rooming house: rooms for rent, common kitchen and living room area. I never saw it for sale.

Basically, an army barracks? At Bliss they had trailers were there are 3 individuals to one trailer with a common area and shared kitchen. Something like that?

 

[Weedygarden]

What’s a boarding house?

A boarding house is a large house where rooms were rented out. A boarding house was usually men or women only, as a form of protection and security. Young, unmarried people often lived in boarding houses when they first left home. In a boarding house, breakfast and dinner were usually provided, homemade meals, with a sack lunch prepared for each as well. A rooming house is similar, but with no food or meal provided.

 

[Star_Chick]

A boarding house is a large house where rooms were rented out. A boarding house was usually men or women only, as a form of protection and security. Young, unmarried people often lived in boarding houses when they first left home. In a boarding house, breakfast and dinner were usually provided, homemade meals, with a sack lunch prepared for each as well. A rooming house is similar, but with no food or meal provided.

These would be awesome for children transitioning out of foster care! I wonder why they got rid of them?

 

[Weedygarden]

These would be awesome for children transitioning out of foster care! I wonder why they got rid of them?

Probably not that they were gotten rid of, but rather that people lives changed. Imagine cleaning, doing laundry, cooking for about a dozen boarders. It would definitely take work. I like to cook, but the business of housework is low on my list. I would not want to spend my days cleaning up after able-bodied people.

 

[Cnsper]

Bed and breakfast is about as close as you get now days. The one and only time that I stayed in one they took me sailing with them in the evenings. First day was a 14 foot sail boat. It was ok. The second day was fun though. We took an 18 foot catamaran. That thing could fly across the water.

 

[Amish Heart]

It would be awesome transitioning out of foster care except boarding houses were rented, and foster kids don't have money. Plus, it was for adults that had jobs and took care of their own stuff.
Albuquerque is trying to plan a weird setup...a setup of minihomes for the homeless, and a activities room/kitchen/laundry in a building for the minihomes to use. There was a meeting last night with the public's comments. One comment to consider was that they want to do this "complex" in a residential neighborhood, not near any businesses, so how are the homeless going to find a job and get there?
Boarding houses were smack in the middle of where the action was. B and B's are getaways.

 

[Star_Chick]

It would be awesome transitioning out of foster care except boarding houses were rented, and foster kids don't have money. Plus, it was for adults that had jobs and took care of their own stuff.
Albuquerque is trying to plan a weird setup...a setup of minihomes for the homeless, and a activities room/kitchen/laundry in a building for the minihomes to use. There was a meeting last night with the public's comments. One comment to consider was that they want to do this "complex" in a residential neighborhood, not near any businesses, so how are the homeless going to find a job and get there?
Boarding houses were smack in the middle of where the action was. B and B's are getaways.

ABQ is getting stranger by the day. My uncle still lives there. He complains about some art installation all the time. I think the best thing they did was create a way for the homeless to have jobs. I think ABQ is trying to do the right thing, but I think im some ways they are misdirected. I used to live in the war zone. Now that place should be bulldozed, cleaned up, and perhaps use that space for the mini homes. It is close to a lot of work places. I used to take the bus from there to the old Winrock mall for my job.

 

[Meerkat]

Basically, an army barracks? At Bliss they had trailers were there are 3 individuals to one trailer with a common area and shared kitchen. Something like that?

Not at all like army barracks. A boarding house was a private residence 'a business' where an owner would 'let' aka rent out out rooms to working people. It was not assisted living, an orphanage or a homeless shelter. It was for profit only.

 

[Weedygarden]

Bed and breakfast is about as close as you get now days. The one and only time that I stayed in one they took me sailing with them in the evenings. First day was a 14 foot sail boat. It was ok. The second day was fun though. We took an 18 foot catamaran. That thing could fly across the water.

Bed and breakfasts are similar except they are mostly used for limited times. I imagine boarding houses were used more for temporary or seasonal workers, or people trying to find a home to purchase or rent. I would think it would be considered temporary housing for working people, while B & B's are more for vacations or travel.

My g grandmother had a sister who had a large boarding house in Chicago, maybe 4 stories high. Somewhere, I have a photo of her standing in front of her boarding house. She had a large family, I think 6 daughters and several sons. She had housekeepers and kitchen help in the family. You absolutely would need lots of help for a building that large as a boarding house.

 

[Meerkat]

Probably not that they were gotten rid of, but rather that people lives changed. Imagine cleaning, doing laundry, cooking for about a dozen boarders. It would definitely take work. I like to cook, but the business of housework is low on my list. I would not want to spend my days cleaning up after able-bodied people.

Back then 'Laundry and Cleaners' were very popular and most boarders used them. I never knew of a boarding house that did laundry since most homes were not set up for washing clothes. Also the Laundry Mats were starting to pop up everywhere. Usually meal times were set.

 

[Weedygarden]

Back then 'Laundry and Cleaners' were very popular and most boarders used them. I never knew of a boarding house that did laundry since most homes were not set up for washing clothes. Also the Laundry Mats were starting to pop up everywhere. Usually meal times were set.

Yes, I believe that there were women who took in laundry, and it was probably not done in a boarding house.

 

[Swing]

Have you ever watched "The Twilight Zone"? There are a few episodes where Boarding Houses were the settings. Many times boarding houses were big homes where maybe the husband died and the wife/children consolidated and took in a couple of "boarders". They had their rooms, ate at the family dinner table with family and all became somewhat a family.
Here's the wiki explanation of boarding houses. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boarding_house

 

[Meerkat]

It would be awesome transitioning out of foster care except boarding houses were rented, and foster kids don't have money. Plus, it was for adults that had jobs and took care of their own stuff.
Albuquerque is trying to plan a weird setup...a setup of minihomes for the homeless, and a activities room/kitchen/laundry in a building for the minihomes to use. There was a meeting last night with the public's comments. One comment to consider was that they want to do this "complex" in a residential neighborhood, not near any businesses, so how are the homeless going to find a job and get there?
Boarding houses were smack in the middle of where the action was. B and B's are getaways.

It use to be against the law to be homeless. It was called vacratcy 'spell' and would get you time in jail.
I say build more jails and mental institutions instead of more dependent places for people to be supported, nothing in this world is free ' somebody is going to pay for it ' and sooner or later many of those who will work will join those who don't.
Saying this we have never passed a homeless person without giving them a dollar or two. Because we never know those who may just be down on their luck temporarily or those who make a living out of it. We use to go to homeless shelters but began to see too many were taking advantage of peoples charity. Most are on some from of drugs too so who will buy their drugs and alcohol?
Unless you have bee nhands on you don't know what is helpful and waht is not.

 

[Meerkat]

Yes, I believe that there were women who took in laundry, and it was probably not done in a boarding house.

Weedy yes there was those too but I'm talking about the 'Dry Cleaners and Laundry's'. We used them at times too. Most people took clothes to them one time or another. Every town had one, big cities had many.
You dropped off your dirty clothes and picked them up in a day or so some advertised ' One Day Service' . Most ran by Chinese and your laundry would be wrapped in brown paper tied with string. And somehow amazingly it was folded in a perfect way that was ready to wear with no wrinkles at all. Business suits 'Dry Cleaned' and pressed and hung on wire hangers.