The Lower East Side is one of the most diverse neighbourhoods in Manhattan. It is where you can find Jewish communities, working class Dominicans and Chinese, moneyed artsy types, hipster refugees from Soho and East Village. It is know as the melting pot of the island and by the end of the 19th century, it was the most densely populated spot in the world.
There are so many great restaurants, bars, emerging designers - apparently Lady Gaga started her career in a club on Rivington Street. Also, it does remind me so much of East London...
Anyways, the LES was were the first tenement was constructed in 1833, when the immigrants started arriving in bunches from Prussia and it became know as Kleindeutschland (Little Germany). They were followed by Irish, Jews from Eastern European, Italian immigrants and many other nationalities after the American dream.
The Lower East Side Tenement Museum tells some of these stories. It was built in 1863 at 97 Orchard Street and restored by the museum founders in the 90s. It had been closed since 1935.
You can choose between tours such as: Hard Times, Sweatshop Workers, Irish Outsiders and Exploring 97 Orchid Street.
We decided to go for Hard Times and I can't wait to go back for the others!!!!!! In our tour there were 8 people and during one hour an amazing guide took us back in time, telling the story of how 2 families survived economic depressions at 97 Orchard Street between 1863 and 1935. We had the opportunity to visit the restored homes of the German-Jewish Gumpertz family, whose patriarch disappeared during the Panic of 1873, and the Italian-Catholic Baldizzi family, who lived through the Great Depression.
It is possible to watch a great introductory video in the museum before or after the tour. One of the lines of the video stuck to my mind. It said something like how an immigrant is an adventurer for learning to live in a completely different way from the one he is used to...So true!!!!!
If you are in New York, do not miss it!!!! More information can be found here.
Hope you enjoy!!!!
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