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September 1935. Washington, D.C. "Negro back yards near Capitol." A back alley view of some F Street tenements that are an interesting mix of appalling and appealing. 35mm nitrate negative by Carl Mydans. View full size.
In David Brinkley's excellent book, "Washington Goes to War", about his time in DC during WW II, he points out that at the beginning of the war there were something like 17,000 homes in the capital that still had outdoor plumbing.
But where is the "appealing"? Was there even indoor plumbing?
Note what looks like the remains of a tricycle on the roof. Some grandfather probably threw it there after a nasty trip coming out of the house.
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