If your ancestors came to america from europe in the early 1900s they may have lived in a similar tenement. History of tenements the lower east side tenement museum. Immigrant life on the lower east side and millions of other books are. Growing pains in new yorks lower east side history engine. Your purchase helps support the lower east side tenement museum. Remarkable books to find in nycs tenement museum off the shelf. As the title suggests, bial the underground railroad focuses this illuminating photoessay on the immigrants who settled on manhattans lower east side from the early 1800s to the 1930s. By 1910, more jews lived in new york city than any other city in history. The hard facts included in riis booksuch as the fact that 12 adults. Visit the official web site of the lower east side tenement museum urban log cabin excavation tenement vr history excavation tenement vr history. A cholera epidemic in 1849 took some 5,000 lives, many of them poor people living in overcrowded housing.
New immigrants to new york city in the late 1800s faced grim, cramped living conditions in tenement housing that once dominated the lower east side. Joyce mendelsohn is the granddaughter of jewish immigrants who settled on the lower east side. The tenement museum is temporarily closed effective saturday, march 14. I preferred that books telling of the story of lower east side immigrant life through the. By 1900, more than 80,000 tenements had been built in new york city. Books you should read about the lower east side tenement. Your purchase helps the tenement museum realize its vision of a society that embraces and values the fundamental role of immigration in the evolving american identity. She lectures on the history, culture, and architecture of new york city at the new school for social research and conducts walking tours of and lectures about city neighborhoods sponsored by major cultural and educational institutions. Immigrant life on the lower east side by raymond bial. The apartments were tiny a living room, kitchen and bedroom. Unfortunately, there were few laws protecting the residents of tenements, and.
Nowhere, however, did the tenement situation become as dire as it was in new york, particularly on the lower east side. From a haunted building to a secret recording studio and night club, explore the hidden gems of new york citys lower east side with this list of secrets. In pictures and stories, heres an introduction to the history of manhattan s lower east side. The tenement museum shop carries the best books, both fiction. The tenement museum focuses on americas urban immigrant history. Shes read what feels like half the books in the tenement museum shop, and here are her top five picks. In fact, it is actually a story that brought me to my work at the tenement. During the 19th century, immigration steadily increased, causing new york citys population to double every year from 1800 to 1880. The book selection in their shop is richly diverse and has something for every. Inside the squalid tenements of 1890s new york city. Miriams top ten immigration book recommendations tenement. The factual evidence included jacob riis book, how the other half lives, shocked many americans and others. Riis revealing photos later appeared in his famous 1890 book, how the other. But, over time, most lower east side tenements fell into disrepair as many landlords.
This museum is a treasure it was built around 1870 and had several 3 room apartments. During the infamous new york draft riots that tore apart the city in 1863. Two young boys laugh and steal items from a vendors pushcart on hester street in the lower east side. An edible history of five immigrant families in one new york. From immigration to cultural diversity to food traditions, depression and progression, the lower east side history is a tale that has unfolded over centuries. But you can also get a wonderful sense of the areas history by reading about it. Riismuseum of the city of new yorkgetty images january 1896.
The lower east side tenement museum is a must see for anyone visiting new york city. The aguilar branch of the new york public library on the lower east side, 1898. A good, very brief overview of the history of the tenements in new york. Lower east side cultural education extends far beyond tours and. Season 1 the first season of the tenement museums podcast, how to be american, tells stories, new and old, about the evolution of american identity. The tenement museum provides walking tours and is a popular attraction in the lower east side nyc.
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