Alice Austen's darkroom and developing equipment (gift of Lillian Henry, 1985). © Dale Hart, 1998

Of the four closets off the second floor hallway, the most significant is Alice's darkroom. This cramped and unventilated 61/2 by 8 foot space under the eaves was fitted with waist-high counters, shelves, and deep drawers that could be locked. A collar beam was removed to create more headroom. Here in her closet darkroom, Alice spent hours developing plates and printing, toning, and fixing prints. Gertrude Tate recalled that she would often hear Alice banging around until all hours of the night, working until her prints met her own very high standards. There was no running water in the darkroom, so Alice would wash her prints, winter and summer, at the backyard pump.

Museum Note: The darkroom is not open to the public.