Description
The Lower East Side Tenement Museum, at 97 and 103 Orchard Street, tells the story of the immigrants who crowded into Manhattan's Lower East Side. The museum is the two tenement buildings themselves, where an estimated 15,000 people from more than 20 nations lived.
Guided tours lead into the restored apartments and shops, furnished as the homes of families who lived there. At 97 Orchard Street, built in 1863, the rooms cover immigrant life from 1869 to 1935, among them a Polish family's home and tailoring shop. At 103 Orchard Street, the apartments reach from the 1950s to the 1980s.
In 1935 the landlord evicted the tenants of 97 Orchard Street, boarded up the upper windows and sealed the upper floors. They stayed almost untouched until the museum, founded in 1988, opened them up again, like a time capsule.
Guided tours lead into the restored apartments and shops, furnished as the homes of families who lived there. At 97 Orchard Street, built in 1863, the rooms cover immigrant life from 1869 to 1935, among them a Polish family's home and tailoring shop. At 103 Orchard Street, the apartments reach from the 1950s to the 1980s.
In 1935 the landlord evicted the tenants of 97 Orchard Street, boarded up the upper windows and sealed the upper floors. They stayed almost untouched until the museum, founded in 1988, opened them up again, like a time capsule.