The problems of early industrial cities were made much worse by the fact that they had little in the way of municipal services. If residents wanted reliable street cleaning, fire prevention, policing, street repair, or any other municipal service, they generally had to pay for it themselves, often relying on private companies. As a consequence, such services were limited to wealthy neighborhoods and there was almost no citywide planning and coordination. The situation began to change in the second half of the nineteenth century. Recognizing that the long-term viability of their cities was at stake, officials and policymakers spearheaded reforms that vastly expanded the role of city governments in providing basic services to urban populations. These films reflect the pride cities took in these initiatives. In the first, we see the annual New York Fire Department parade, an event attended by all of the city’s dignitaries. In the second, we see a parade of uniformed city street sweepers, known as “white wings.”

New York Fire Department, Annual Parade (1904)

White Wings on Review (1903)

Source: Video courtesy of Library of Congress, Moving Image Section.

QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER