Me and Bear are Dreaming about You!
Day 8 (Yes the 1st night we were here counted as a day) and we are on our way to the Lower Eastside. Today was a day of real experiences on this Exploring American History Grant. I like to call it the first ”Meat & Potatos” day on this trip, not because thats what we ate, but because today we got to actually feel and touch experiences that impacted America. It was another, and hopefully final (may feet are sore) walking tour around historical parts of New York City. But today was special because of how the tour ended. But I’m getting a little aheard of myself so lets go back and start at the beginning of the day.
Five Points Neighborhood Today
Many people have seen the movie “Gangs of New York.” It is about the different ethnic gangs from the 5 Point district who fight for political and physical control of the area. The film starts in the mid 1840s and then jumps into the early 1860s. The two main issues of this time period were Irish immigration into the city and the American Civil War. There are political leaders such as “Boss Tweed” , mob leaders, and other political “kingpins” fighting over control of the city as well as Draft riots brought on by the American Civil War.
So now, here I am in this spot that has been portrayed in the movie and I get goose bumps. But this area is just this funny little spot. It doesn’t stand out and it reminds me of several spots in Pueblo with a small park in the shape of a triangle. I missed several parts of our tour guide Ed O’Donnell’s talk because, being the terrific hero that I tell everyone I am, I was off helping the straggling history groupies get across the street. So I asked a couple of members of our group why they call it Five Points if it is shaped like a triangle and only has 3 points. Turns out that a road is missing. There were the streets of Mulberry, Anthony (now Worth St.), Cross (now Mosco), Orange (now Baxter), and Little Water Street (no longer exists). Today, the Five Points District is located between Chinatown and the Financial District. The name Five Points therefore came from the five corners at this intersection.
- “5 Points” Mid 1800′s
Our next historically important stop was at the Church /School that Alfred Smith attended. Al Smith was elected Governer of New York 4 times and was the Democratic candidate for president in the 1928 election. He lost to Republican Herbert Hoover but he was he is remembered because he was the first Roman Catholic to run for President as a major party nominee. He later became president of the Empire State Corporation and was the driving force in getting the Empire State Building built in spite of the Great Depression. He is a political legend and here we were standing in front of the place that educated him.
We walked around Chinatown and learned how the neighborhoods have changed from ethnic group to ethic group. One group moves in to the poorer sections and then works hard to better themselves and eventually move up to better conditions. Then a new ethnic group moves in and repeats the same scenario. One thing that really stood out was the trash in the streets. This area seemed the worst kept and dirtiest of all the neighborhoods we have visited so far! I wonder if it is a cultural thing coming from China. Another possibly I’ve thought of could be a lack of funds due to the fact that this is an immigrant and poorer area.
Next we walked across the Bowery, past the Manhattan Bridge, stopped for a bathroom break, saw Hester St., and worked our way over into a Jewish neighborhood for lunch. We ate at Katz’s Deli where I had Pastrami on Rye with an extra kosher pickle. The food was really good and I stuffed myself even trying some of Kelli’s and Wendy’s sandwiches. I really think I better find that gym and quit spending all my down time writing these blogs!
After lunch we headed to the Lower East Side Tenement Museum. OK, this is where it really gets good. I just taught 4 classes this last school year on immigration. Due to the importance of New York as a hub of immigration I focused on Ellis Island and the assimilation within this community. One major section we covered was Tenement Houses. So here I was, walking into a real tenement!
After lunch we headed to the Lower East Side Tenement Museum. OK, this is where it really gets good. I just taught 4 classes this last school year on immigration. Due to the importance of New York as a hub of immigration I focused on Ellis Island and the assimilation within this community. One major section we covered was Tenement Houses. So here I was, walking into a real tenement!
So here is the basic information about the average tenements and this house/museum. The average immigrant family had at least 6 people and after 1910 that rose to somewhere between 8-10 people. Each tenement building had 5 stories with 4 apartments per floor. The average total square footage was 325 feet. Each apartment consisted of a kitchen, bedroom, and living room. Cold water was added around 1905, before that the only water was outside or in the basement. The basements of each building were used for businesses such as laundry or beer halls. The particular tenement that we visited was opened in 1863 and closed as residential apartments in 1935 during the great depression. But the ground level continued to be rented out and thereby helping the owners to at times break even. In 1988 Ruth Abram discovered this building that had been shuttered in 1935 and was exactly the same as it was left all those years ago! What a thrill it was to go inside this building and see how the Levine family lived from 1890 to 1906. How small and cramped it was. The house was used as a sweatshop, making garments in all three rooms. Then we compared what life was like for another family around 1920. These people changed with the times and didn’t have a sweatshop in their home because factories were the in thing and very much more efficient. The rooms were about the same size, yet much roomier without all the garment equipment. This was just a great experience and I will never forget it! I’m just sad that we were not allowed to take pictures inside! How I would love to share this experience with my students through pictures! Sorry Mr. Sims, guess you will have to write about your day instead of posting another slideshow!
Click this link for a Virtual Tour of 97 Orchard Street (The Tenement House):
http://www.tenement.org/Virtual-Tour/index_virtual.html
Land of Hope is a historical novel for middle school aged kids dealing with immigration. The year is 1902. The Levinski’s are a Jewish family fleeing the Pograms in Russia. They come over on a ship where Rebecka meets and befriends Kristin from Sweden and Rose from Ireland. They get to New York City and they move into a tenement house that their uncle got for them so that they can open a sewing factory (sweatshop) in the apartment. The novel goes through many experiences that immigrants would face such as steamship conditions, fears on Ellis Island, language barriers, cultural differences, old world expectations vs. new world opportunities, ethnic neighborhoods, and typical tenement living. My students all loved the book and what’s more, they remembered the facts about immigration by thinking about this story. I highly recommend as a supplement to teaching immigration!
Oh, and for dinner we did go out where Mr. Sims was out of control again! What are we going to do with him??? Will someone take him and help straighten him out, PLEASE?????
