Tenement Museum

The door creaks shut, snuffing out the sunlight from the foyer and pitching you into the world of a 19th-century New York City immigrant. An old chandelier hangs tiredly, creating more shadows than light. Above, children run through the halls, the common toilet flushes, and pipes rumble from the water pressure. The plight of the immigrant is the history of the United States. Through the centuries, millions sought the American Dream and made their homes on Manhattan’s Lower Eastside. In two-room apartments, they lived with children, cousins, and grandparents. They registered their names and left behind teapots and cufflinks. At the Tenement Museum, you can experience a day in their lives and maybe even find a relative who once lived here.

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The remarkably restored buildings of the Lower East Side Tenement Museum on Orchard Street provide a fascinating glance into the lifestyle of New York's 19th and early 20th century immigrants. Take a tour to get to know families like the Levines, Polish immigrants who ran a small garment operation out of their home or the Rogarshevskys, whose apartment is maintained as it was when they mourned their father Abraham in 1918. Seeing these tenements provides a rare opportunity to see the crowded conditions, difficulties, and simple routines of everyday life for these immigrant families pursuing the American dream.

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