A guide by PaoloT
The tiny Tenement Museum in New York's Lower East Side is often overlooked by tourists in favour of the more 'glitzy' and well known museums such as the Natural History Museum or the Met. But in my opinion this beats them all hands down.
97 Orchard Street is a wonderful slice of NY history and it really helps you see past Macys and Banana Republic to the real New York - the urban working class immigrant families who built the city to the one we know today. The building itself was home to scores of families through the ages - each of whom lived in tiny cramped apartments. And it's these apartments you can visit, restored to how they would have looked in different eras.
The restorers have been really clever, and researched specific families to get an authentic version of their life, and there are real belongings and photos within the apartments. You can walk through the 1870s, 1890s, the 1930s and so on. And you really feel that you get to know the specific families, and can imagine how difficult it was to build a family and survive in such a tiny space.
It's absolutely magical, and worth every cent of the $17 it costs for the guided tour. In my opinion, this is a must-see venue in NYC, and it might take your mind off trying to find the ultimate cheap designer jeans. Suddenly shopping seems terribly unimportant in the face of such real poverty.
Once visited, this museum will leave an indelible mark on you, and you'll be recommending it to all your friends.
97 Orchard Street, Lower East Side, NYC. www.tenement.org/
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