by Liz Robbins
Imagine walking on the Lower East Side at the turn of the 20th century in what was then the most densely populated place on Earth — with people from all over the world. You would hear a cacophony of languages, bump against people and inhale the urgent smells of survival.
Four museums in the neighborhood not only reimagine this immersive experience, they repurpose it as a tool to learn about immigration today. The Tenement Museum, the House on Henry Street, the Museum at Eldridge Street and the Museum of Chinese in America all fling you back to a bustling past, and, in the process, help you examine your own identity.
“What does it mean to be an American?” Gabrielle Spear, 27, a guide at the Tenement Museum asked her group of visitors in the “Under One Roof” tour, which displays the lives of three families from Germany, Puerto Rico and China who lived in 103 Orchard Street over a span of 50 years.
The answer is complicated.
Despite being a so-called “nation of immigrants,” the history of the United States is one of anti-immigrant prejudice and restrictive laws. At the same time, its history is one of community support, of social welfare organizations and religious sanctuaries — no more so robust than on the Lower East Side.
The Tenement Museum, founded in 1988, is the most established of the immigrant museums, and accessible only by guided tour of the streets and two tenement buildings. In person, and on its website, the museum embraces the rich history of American immigration — using facts to challenge myths and rhetoric.
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