In 1888, in New York City the Low East side was the most populated. Riis worked in the United. States as a carpenter so he experienced poverty and unemployment himself. He once had no money and no place to live. This made it easy to write about because he understood how it felt. He was born in Ribe, Denmark. One of Riis' most famous photos was taken on Bayard Street in New York City. block after block tenements had working poor immigrants of the city.