Slumming It

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Visitors to the United Kingdom can experience a slice of slum life—albeit a gentrified one—with the opening of the Birmingham Back to Backs museum and holiday cottages, tel: (44-121) 753 7757.

Back-to-backs are workers' houses, so named because of the way they back on to each other in a densely packed huddle. Once synonymous with overcrowding, poor sanitation and disease, they were built in the thousands during the 19th century.

Today, a single court of back-to-back housing is all that remains in Birmingham—one of just a handful left in the U.K. Now owned by the National Trust, the houses at 54 Inge Street have been restored to reflect what it was like to live there in different eras. Visitors can join a guided tour (advance booking recommended) or stay in one of three "holiday cottages" restored in Georgian, Victorian and Art Deco styles.

The first back-to-backs were completed in 1802. Consisting of three rooms, one above another, they were built around a central courtyard and each housed upward of 10 people. They became a byword for squalor until 1966 when they were finally declared unfit for habitation. Their rehabilitation began in 1988 when they were listed as historical monuments, and restoration of 54 Inge Street was initiated by the Birmingham Conservation Trust in 2001.

Of course, authenticity only goes so far in homes that were originally built without running water or toilets. The revamped holiday cottages now include "capsule" kitchens and bathrooms, televisions, microwaves, comfortable double beds and a price tag reflecting their newfound status: a two-night stay—the minimum—will set you back at least $325. Proletarians of yore will be wondering why they never got into the holiday business.