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IN THE LATE 1970s, they dotted the island of Manhattan. The Barbizon, the Martha Washington, the Leo House Annex, Simmons House, the St. Agnes Residence and more.
They were women's residences, where women who were new to the city or in transition and without much cash could find an inexpensive room to live in. You didn't worry about paying a big deposit, because there was none, or buying furniture, as the rooms were furnished. Each room came with a telephone and a regular change of linen.
Women increasingly had the audacity to study law and business instead of just looking for husbands, but plenty still felt the need to be protected from the evils of New York City. In the residences there was no smoking, liquor, drugs or men.
I landed at The Barbizon on West 63rd Street, in flight from a bad marriage. Working days as a reporter and studying nights for the bar exam, I stayed six months in a small room with a shared bath for...