The Tenement Museum
The Tenement Museum is gem in Manhattan’s Lower East Side. It showcases a real tenement building - 97 Orchard Street - that housed immigrant families from the 1860s to the 1930s. The upper floors of the building were shut down and abandoned for more than 50 years. Today, visitors can walk through the rooms and learn about the families who lived in them. Their stories were pieced together from building artifacts, historical documents, and accounts from former residents and their descendants.
Unlike traditional museums that have exhibits where visitors read labels and listen to recordings, the Tenement Museum is experienced by walking through the rooms with a knowledgeable guide. Each small group of visitors learns about one or two real families who lived in those rooms. Group members are encouraged to share their reactions and their own family experiences.
When I visited with my friends Jean, Jennifer, and Stephanie, we learned about two families. The Rogarshevskys were a Jewish family of eight from Lithuania who lived there 1908-1941. The Baldizzis were a Catholic family of four from Sicily who lived there 1928-1935. We talked about the ways those families made adjustments to how their lived, ate, and practiced their faiths. A recurring theme was the importance of neighbors helping one another.
This was my third visit to the Tenement Museum, and every time has been fascinating, and enlightening, and inspiring. Every time, I was so fully absorbed in the experience that I didn’t think to take photos! I heartily recommend this unique place to all my friends visiting New York City.
