Lower East Side: the neighborhood that hosted the majority of immigrants
By the end of the XNUMXth century, the Lower East Side was one of the districts of NYC which welcomed a large number of immigrants. The majority of them were Germans, but in the XNUMXth century the Jewish community arrived and made the Lower East Side their adopted district.
Today, the Lower East Side is a neighborhood that is evolving and where people from all over the world live together (South American and Asian people have also settled there).
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Guided tours offered by the Tenement Museum
As noted, the Tenement Museum is a museum that can be discovered through guided tours. These last between 1 and 2 hours. Here they are.
Visits inside the building
Shop Life
At 97 Orchard Street, you will visit John and Caroline Schneider's German store. The latter dates back more than a century and during this visit, you will discover the history of this store as well as family life at that time. This guided tour lasts 90 minutes and takes place on the ground floor of the building. Its price is $ 25 per adult and $ 20 per student and senior over 65.
Sweatshops Workers
This visit invites you to discover the clothing workshop of the Levine and Rogarshevsky family during the 25th century. You will be able to see the small size of the apartments and understand how families lived during this time when the Lower East Side was the most densely populated area in the world. This visit will also allow you to learn how these families reconciled work, family and religion during this period marked by big changes. This guided tour lasts one hour and takes place on the third floor. The prices are: $ 20 per adult and $ 65 per student and senior over XNUMX.
Sweatshops Workers : Tour and Discussion
During this visit, discover the apartments of the Levine and Rogarshevsky families and discuss the themes raised during the visit. On your side, you can share your experience and tell your story. If you're interested, go to the third floor for two hours. The price is $ 25 per adult and $ 20 per student and senior over 65.
Hard Times
You will learn how families survived the economic crises that arose between 1863 and 1935 and you will visit the home of the German Jewish family Gumpertz whose father died during The Panic of 1873, a financial crisis caused by the bankruptcy of the first American bank at that time. You will also meet the Italian-Catholic Baldizzi family and see how they survived the Great Depression of the 1930s. The duration of this tour is one hour and it is held on the second floor of the building. For the price, this is $ 25 per adult and $ 20 per student and senior over 65.
Hard Times : Tour and Discussion
You will spend time in the apartment of the Baldizzi family and participate in discussions on topics related to the guided tour. During this visit, you will also be able to share your own experience with the other participants. If you're interested, head to the second floor for two hours of discussion. The price is $ 25 per adult and $ 20 per student and senior over 65.
Irish Outsiders
Meet the Irish Moore family and visit their restored apartment. Also discover how immigrants from very different backgrounds forged their American identity. This tour lasts one hour and takes place on the fourth floor. Its price is $ 25 per adult and $ 20 per student and senior over 65.
Exploring 97 Orchard Street
Go behind the scenes of the Tenement Museum and learn about the history of this building and neighborhood. You'll also learn how the legislation allowed tenants to leave their mark and how archaeologists and restorers work to unravel the history of this building. This tour takes place on the first, second and fourth floors. It lasts 1h30 and the price is $ 25 per adult and $ 20 per student and senior over 65.
Under One Roof
During this tour, you will visit the homes of Bella Epstein, whose parents survived the Holocaust (or Shoah), or of Jose and Andy Velez, whose mother left Puerto Rico to go to work in clothing. This guided tour takes place on the third floor and lasts 90 minutes. Its price: $ 25 per adult and $ 20 per student and senior over 65.
Tastings at the Tenement
Try a variety of foods and experience the flavors of the past and those of the Lower East Side today. You can also share your experience and watch interviews with local store owners who sold the food. This tasting lasts 90 minutes.
A day in the life : Rogarshevsky family
For 35 minutes, you will visit this family's home and see the neighborhood through their eyes.
Guided tours to meet residents
Victoria Confino
On this guided tour, you will meet Victoria Confino, a young girl who lived at 97 Orchard Street in 1916 (she was 14 at the time). You will be able to tour his apartment, ask him questions about his life, and gain insight into his daily life on the Lower East Side during this time. To participate, go to the third floor of the building for an hour's visit.
Live ! At the Tenement
This tour invites you to meet several residents living at 97 Orchard Street and explore their apartment. You will be able to learn more about the daily lives of the Levine, Baldizzi and Moore families and discover how their hopes intersect on an ever-changing Lower East Side. This guided tour lasts 1 hours and takes place on the second, third and fourth floors.
Tenement Inspectors
You'll travel back to 1906 and meet a resident and landlord to learn about life in the buildings in the neighborhood. To participate, head to the first floor for a 90-minute visit.
Last call ! At Schneider’s salon
This program will teach you how to succeed in the heart of the German immigrant quarter in 1874, a year of economic crisis. For this visit, it takes 1h30 and get to the ground floor.
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Guided tours outside the building
Building on the Lower East Side
Each building on the Lower East Side has its own story. On this two-hour guided tour, listen to some of these stories and learn about the architects, artists, and ordinary people who influenced the design of buildings and shaped the landscape you know today.
Outside the home
Discover the Lower East Side through the eyes of immigrants. You will be able to see the Jarmulowsky Bank building where immigrants deposited their savings, the Daily Forward in which the socialists fought for workers' rights and the PS 42, a building where several generations of immigrants learned how to become Americans. For this visit, it takes 90 minutes.
Then & Now
This tour tells the story of how immigrants have fought over the past 100 years to improve their neighborhoods and to best preserve their community despite profound political and economic changes. This tour lasts 2 hours.
Foods of the Lower East Side
For two hours, learn about immigrant food and how it then shaped American food.
To book: if you are interested in one of these tours, select it directly on the Tenement Museum website, choose the date and time and book your tickets.
Is one guided tour more interesting than another?
In reality, it's up to you and what you want to learn. Indeed, all the visits are unique and very informative. So it's up to you to see what you prefer.
Additional information about these guided tours
If you want to participate in one or more guided tours, it is important to Reserve in advance (about 2-3 weeks) to make sure you have a place for the day you want.
As for the language, the tours are in English; this is therefore complicated for people who do not master the language, but to help you and guide you, know that you can ask a visit booklet translated into French.
The ideal museum store to bring back a souvenir!
Le Tenement Museum store is an ideal place to find a souvenir to bring back from your visit to the museum or simply from your trip to New York. Indeed, even if you do not participate in any guided tour, you can still enter this souvenir shop to find one or more gifts! Among the items you can find gadgets, pens, notebooks, stickers, T-shirts, bags, books on New York history and much more! So don't hesitate to take a look!
Practical information about the museum
- If you want to take photos, be aware that this is not possible indoors.
- The Tenement Museum organizes events from time to time (these are explained on the museum website).
- There is no elevator inside.
- Tours are limited to 12 people.
What are the museum's opening hours?
The Tenement Museum is open Monday to Sunday from 10 a.m. to 18 p.m. (except Thursday when it closes at 30 p.m.).
What is his address ?
It is located in the Lower East Side neighborhood at: 103 Orchard Street, New York, NY 10002.
If you want to learn more about the history of New York, the Tenement Museum is the museum to visit! It will take you back years and allow you to deepen your knowledge of the melting pot. But don't forget to book your entrance ticket in advance!
