Visible charity: The archaeology, material culture, and landscape design of New York City's municipal almshouse complex, 1736-1797

Abstract

How did New York City's eighteenth century almshouse (1736-1797) handle homelessness and poverty? Historians have been debating whether the conditions were familial and supportive, or mean-spirited and intolerable. An analysis of the archaeology, artifacts, architecture, landscape design, primary sources, and secondary sources associated with the New York City almshouse complex suggest some answers.