Today was a continuation of our walking tour with Ed O’Donnell; this time our destination was the Lower East Side. This area was often where new immigrants from Ireland, Germany, Africa, and Italy lived in the most awful conditions. These were the slums of New York - overly crowded, no running water, sunlight, indoor plumbing, or electricity.
In 1650, with only 500 people inhabiting New Amsterdam, eighteen different languages were being spoken, and that melting pot has remained. Ed told us that most ethnic neighborhoods lasted only two to three decades, because the goal was to get out! What was once Little Italy, is now a part of Chinatown. Asians have maintained a continued influx of immigrants which has sustained their ethnic neighborhoods and they now number over 500,000 in New York City. The open markets were a sight to behold, with all of the imported clothing, purse, jewelry and assorted foods. The aroma of spices to the unquestionable odor of assorted fish permeated the area. Not much English spoken here, as they have are a fully self-contained community.
Katz’s Deli of “When Harry Met Sally” fame and many other movies was our venue for lunch. The food was delicious and the atmosphere bustling. I could only eat half of my sandwich so I took it to the counter where they wrapped it for you. After a bit of friendly bantering with the young man at the counter, I got to meet the owner, have my picture taken with him (just like the celebrities, though, sadly, mine will not be on the wall), and with the guy that got that all in motion. It was great fun!
- Crocheted bicycle cover!
The Lower East Side Tenement Museum revealed the squalor these people endured. It was shocking and very sad. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take pictures, but many of us purchased the Jacob Riis book, How the Other Half Lives, which was first published in 1890. Riis used the power of photographs to expose the deplorable predicaments of those less fortunate and at the mercy of greedy, exploitive landlords who benefitted from their relationships with crooked politicians. Riis had experienced this side of life in New York himself for nearly four years when he first came to America from Denmark in 1921. Eventually he got hired as a police reporter for the New York Tribune which was on Mulberry Street (no affiliation with Dr. Seuss) in the Lower East Side. He thought much of this area was” not fit for Christian men and women, let alone innocent children, to live in…” Crime, starvation, and filthy, crowded conditions motivated Riis to become one of the first leaders for social reform.
Our tour of the Tenement House Museum was eye-opening. You can read and look at pictures all day, but to actually stand inside one of these tiny apartments and imagine living with possibly eleven or twelve other people in approximately 325 square feet, left me dumbfounded, and I had great sympathy for those poor people. We also saw an apartment where a family had set up their own dressmaking “factory.” They each had specific jobs in their mini assembly line and worked late into the night by kerosene lantern to eke out an existence. When the purchasers of their garments realized they might contract contagious diseases from the conditions in the tenements, some were inspired to change things, once it affected them personally.
I think it would be meaningful for students to measure the size of these tenement apartments and then physically have students step into the area. Can you imagine living with ten or eleven people in this sized space? Where would you play? How would you sleep? What if you had more people paying to sleep in your apartment because they had none of their own? How would you stay clean? What if you had to work, rather than go to school? Where is the bathroom?
I will also show them images of the Lower East Side and read accounts from children who lived in these conditions. Time for primary and secondary source examination and analysis.
