Several dwellings open out into this courtyard which is used for hanging wash, for storage, and as a play area for children. Note the cellar steps at the right. In 1911 the Medical Health Officer of Toronto found 469 people living in basements and cellars under extremely unsanitary conditions. Frame dwellings such as these rented for eight to twelve dollars per month and often had open pit privies and poor water and bathing facilities. Note also that the buildings are constructed of wood with tar paper roofs. Poor and working-class neighborhoods had a higher proportion of frame construction which represented a serious fire hazard.
