New York City tenements housed the city's immigrants from the 1850s to 1920s. They were crowded, poorly maintained and had almost no conveniences. Each tenement housed numerous families. Each 3-room flat slept a family numbering 8 to 10. The tenements didn't have toilets, running water, gas or electricity. Most had only one window. Residents shared a common toilet. They washed in the kitchen. They cooked on a wood or coal-burning stove. They lived amid filth and disease. The tenements were ice cold in winter. They were so hot in summer that children often slept in the stairwell. In 1865 there were some 15,300 tenements in New York City and over 60% of the city's 800,000 residents lived in tenement housing.