LOWER EAST SIDE TENEMENT MUSEUM
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Mission Statement
The Tenement Museum preserves and interprets the history of immigration through the personal experiences of the generations of newcomers who settled in and built lives on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, America’s iconic immigrant neighborhood; forges emotional connections between visitors and immigrants past and present; and enhances appreciation for the profound role immigration has played and continues to play in shaping America’s evolving national identity.
About This Cause
Founded in 1988 by historian Ruth Abram and social activist Anita Jacobsen, the Tenement Museum explores the uniquely American story of immigration and the rich, diverse landscape it continues to create. The Museum took root when Abram and Jacobson discovered 97 Orchard Street — a dilapidated tenement building that had been shuttered for more than 50 years. Although the building was in ruins, they uncovered personal belongings and other evidence of the immigrant families that called those apartments home between the 1860s and 1930s. These artifacts and the families who owned them became the foundation for what the Tenement Museum represents today: a belief that our national identity is best understood and appreciated through the stories of real families whose lives have shaped our shared history. Today, we explore stories of immigration and migration through guided tours of our two tenement buildings at 97 and 103 Orchard Street and their Lower East Side neighborhood. These immersive trips back in time offer a chance to explore identity, public policy, urban development, architecture, and other themes through the true stories of the ordinary families who lived in these iconic buildings and the people in the neighborhood.