| This dissertation focuses on the social history of taxicabs in New York and Chicago between their initial appearance in 1906 and the landmark passage of laws limiting their number in 1937. Over this period, for-hire automobiles developed from a rare luxury into a commonly available and economically indispensible form of urban transportation. Taxicabs were identified as a supporting pillar of such institutions as the theater, the speakeasy, and the hotel. With their frequent changes of style and color, they literally became “the poor man's automobile.”; With cabs' sudden growth, however, came controversy. One strain of critique centered around drivers' contribution to street crime and the violation of sexual mores. Other critics followed an economic argument, holding overabundant taxis disproportionately culpable for congestion and accidents. Taxis were alternately described as sparkling urban conveniences and as a forces of destructive chaos. Both cities, after a number of false starts in the 1920s and much discussion, passed consumer protection and economic rationalization laws during the economic crisis of the 1930s.; Despite some similarities, the cities had fundamentally different taxicab industries. In New York, taxicabs and their drivers were an essential part of life and folklore. Geography, concentrated cultural resources and other factors built a system where cabs could be hailed at a moments notice at a wide range of locations, a pluralistic universe in which thousands of small proprietors could effectively compete. Chicago's industry, without such density, was telephone-based and was dominated by two large corporations.; From the history of taxicabs, this dissertation makes a broader argument about the politics of public space in twentieth-century American cities. When listing the pros and cons of cab use, observers often unwittingly expressed their beliefs about what kind of street and sidewalk culture was desirable. Different constituencies active in debates about taxis—chambers of commerce, traffic engineers, streetcar companies, officials, owners, and drivers—lobbied to support their own visions for the city. |
