Waterfront Property: 1935

My kids would have been wet already.

This part of town historically was called Swampoodle and got that name because of the large puddles that would form after rains. A tributary of Tiber Creek flowed south through here to meet up with the city canal, and it was very prone to flooding.

I shudder to think what fun it must have been trying to keep the bugs out once the sun went down. At least in D.C. people like this were "free" but at what cost?

Surely the four children on the left are sitting on a cellar door? And if the yard is as poorly drained as this, that cellar is doubtless more or less flooded much of the time. The interior of the entire house must be moldy and damp in the hot, humid environment of the District's summer.

The caption implies no indoor plumbing -- I wonder if they have central heat? We tend to forget what a hard life people lived even a realtively short time ago.

Four lively kids trying to be good, but there is nothing to play with. Although the boys look determined to stay clean and dry, I believe the little girl has already decided to go ahead and succumb to her inspired plans and will get the ball rolling, as she is already on her way.