Tomorrow we meet at The Tenement Museum at 9:45 am. Afterwards we will walk around the Lower Eastside exploring the remnants of what once was a vibrant Jewish community and it’s current transformation. The Tenement Museum is at 103 Orchard St. between Delancey and Broome. More details are under the menu tab “Trips”. Don’t be late as the tour starts promptly at 10 am. If you owe me $15 please bring it.
In its turn-of-the-century heyday, the Lower East Side was home to a flourishing Jewish community of Germans, Eastern Europeans, Russians, and Greeks. They lived in cramped tenements and peddled pushcarts or toiled in the garment industry for a living—when they weren’t agitating for social reform or establishing synagogues, community centers, Yiddish theaters, and newspapers. These days, the neighborhood has a different flavor. New waves of Chinese and Latino immigrants have set up their own shops, bodegas, and religious sites, converting defunct synagogues into churches and Buddhist temples. And though still an immigrant hub, the area is also decidedly hip, with pricey boutiques, swanky nightspots, and rising rents. But beneath the L.E.S.’s ever-changing identity, remnants of a gritty, tumultuous, and Jewish past remain.
Here are a few links to maps and walking tours of the Lower Eastside.
http://nymag.com/visitorsguide/neighborhoods/jewishles.htm
http://wikitravel.org/en/Manhattan/Lower_East_Side
http://www.fodors.com/news/story_5400.html
Interactive Map of Old Synagogues and other historic sites.
https://www.google.com/maps/search/map+of+lower+east+side+
synagogues/@40.7198407,-73.9975384,15z
Film and NYC 2014 