Pawnbrokers' shops, "Cheap Johns," second class hotels, dance houses,
fifth rate lodging houses, low class theatres, and concert saloons,
abound in the lower part of the street.
The Sunday law, which, seems to be so rigidly enforced in other parts
of the city, is a dead letter in the Bowery. Here on Sunday, one may
see shops of all kinds--the vilest especially--open for trade. Cheap
clothing-stores, etc., concert saloons, and the most infamous dens of
vice, are in full blast. The street, and the cars traversing it, are
thronged with the lower classes, in search of what they call enjoyment.
At night all the places of amusement are open, and are crowded to
excess. Boughs, thieves, fallen women, and even little children, throng
them. Indeed, it is sad to see how many children are to be found in
these vile places. The price of admission is low, and, strange as it
may sound, almost any beggar can raise it. People have no idea how much
of the charity they lavish on street beggars goes in this direction.
The amusement afforded at these places ranges from indelicate hints and
allusions to the grossest indecency.
Another feature of the Bowery is the immense beer-gardens with which it
abounds. We refer to those of the better class, which are patronized
chiefly by the German element of the city. These are immense buildings,
fitted up in imitation of a garden. Some are very handsomely frescoed,
and otherwise adorned.
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