This past Wednesday, our group went to the Lower East Side's Tenement Museum. Since Wednesday is the cherished day that breaks up the work week and enables us to sleep a little later, we were not too thrilled when we found out that we had to be ready at 9 a.m. for a museum tour. But with sleep heavy eyes and coffee in hand, I joined others in the lobby of our building to head out into the cold but sunny streets of New York. The "museum" was not what one would expect. The main office consisted of two rooms on the ground floor of an antiquated building, adorned with displays of books and trinkets. But this main office was not where interested parties would find the museum's "exhibits." When our group arrived we found out that our visit had two parts, indoor and outdoor. The latter informed us about the tenements, which are such a part New York City's history, and also about neighborhoods and people of the Lower East Side. With the cold snap finally over, we had a refreshing, interesting, and informative stroll through a famous part of New York.
The indoor tour was even more fascinating. The Tenement Museum is a tenement building dating back to the 1860s, which has barely been changed since the turn of the century. Walking through it was like going back in time. It was amazing that so much had been preserved. Not too clean or too bright, it felt real. New York has an incredibly rich history, and immigration is a major part of its story of diversity. Being able to see what it once looked like was a wonderful experience.
