Hungry for a photographic investigation of Chicago's slums in the 1950s? LIFE has cobbled together a few dozen Fritz Goro shots from 1954 that do a good job showing just how substandard some sections of 19th century housing stock had become. The photos take a sympathetic (but also cinematic) approach to families trying to make do with wretched living conditions. To close the gallery a family is shown settling into new public housing — the desirable conclusion in the minds of 1950s policy makers. [LIFE via Chicagoist, Photo: Fritz Goro/Time & Life Pictures]
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