A failed attempt to visit Ellis Island last weekend turned into a serendipitous trip to the Tenement Museum at 97 Orchard Street. If you're visiting New York City this is a must-see.The Tenement Museum web site alone is fascinating, but to actually stand in the dark, creaky building is very moving. The tenement was built in 1863. Rather than bring the building up to code in 1935 the landlord evicted the tenants and allowed the building to remain empty until it was purchased by the museum in the 1980's.
I still can't wrap my head around what daily life could have been like for the people who lived in this tenement.
- Each apartment was just 3 rooms totaling 275 square feet
If you're in suburbia find the largest closet in your house, and then live there with your immediate family for a few years.
- Plumbing wasn't installed until 1901
Until then, 22 families shared outhouses with a saloon on the first floor of the building.
- Residents of 97 Orchard St. tossed their garbage in boxes on the sidewalk
And so did their neighbors. In 1863, the New York Tribune described garbage boxes as "one festering, rotting, loathsome, hellish mass of air poisoning, death-breeding filth".
97 Orchard: An Edible History of Five Immigrant Families in One New York Tenement
Jane Ziegelman
Tenement Stories: Immigrant Life (1835-1935) (Raintree Fusion: American History Through Primary Sources)
Sean Stewart
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
Betty Smith
No comments:
Post a Comment