Interior, 97 Orchard Street – New York, New York
As I explained yesterday, you need to successfully get into a small group tour to see the original apartments of the Tenement Museum. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find a suitable slot since I was flying back home in the afternoon. However, it didn’t stop me from sneaking a peak inside.
After photographing the entrance, I walked up the stoop and shot through the window. The living area looked nicely furnished, but the entrance hall looked rough — was this in keeping with the authentic nature of tenements?
Tenements were low-cost housing for the working class. Immigrants came to New York in droves from around the world and lived in these tiny apartments — sharing hallway bathrooms and other “amenities.”
Grand mansions from the Gilded Era are often open to visitors showing the lives of the upper class. But unfortunately, the lives of the working class are rarely represented. The Tenement Museum is a unique treat.
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2 thoughts on “A Glimpse into the Immigrant Past”
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atmtx photo blog 
Bonus points for getting shots of the inside without going in. It looks to me like a developer’s model house for the build era. All new and spiffy – not so much the immigrant experience. Interesting.
Thanks, Mike. Did get the tour but at least I got some pictures to talk about on the blog.
I don’t know how authentic the depictions are to the immigrant experience — perhaps an idealized version. Still, it would be fascinating to visit the Tenement Museum in the future.