tenement museum
 

Someone mentioned this as something neat to do when in the city. Anyone have any more info like where is it, what are the hours and costs and anything else.

I went last year. I don't regard it as something neat. It is a grim reminder of what terrible slum housing many Irish and other immigrants were forced to live in.

If you enjoy that sort of thing, then do it. It is reality; it is fact, but I found it less than enjoyable.

I enjoyed it very much. I found that images from the tour have come back to me often. Living conditions were grim indeed, but it really brings the immigrant experience to life.

Nick Nolte happened to be in our tour group. The girls at the ticket desk were abuzz when we returned after the tour. I don't think any of us recognized him while on the tour - and the group size is small - and the rooms you visit are very small.

Here's a link to more information - www.tenement.org

The full name is the Lower East Side Tenement Museum.

An aside - I loved the movie "Crossing Delancy" and was a bit excited to cross Delancey as we walked uptown from the museum tour. Made the locales of the movie more real and relative.

http://www.tenement.org/

Our family found it very interesting. Grim, yes, but also a part of our history. The conditions were difficult, but the story of the people who came here as immigrants is also inspirational. If you are interested in that part of our history, I would also highly recommend a visit to Ellis Island.
Have a great trip.

bob_brown's answer somewhat surprises me. Sure it is a grim reminder of how the "other half" used to live, but it gives a human connection that I found worthwhile. I thought the tour was very well done. Depending on the "luck of the draw" you will visit a particular apartment or two and learn the backgrounds and lives of the actual people who lived in that unit.

The total is not totally unlike visiting a Nazi death camp-- also a very grim reminder, but in my opinion a worthwhile experience. Of course, not everyone would appreciate the "reality" of that visit as well. And I agree that visiting Ellis Island is another worthwhile activity, despite its similar "grim" reminders.

Let's not get wrapped up in semantics. "Enjoy" certainly isn't the word that most of us would use to describe the Tenement Museum experience.
"Worthwhile" and "meaningful" might be better ones. In any event, the experience is definitely worth your time.

Howard, you nailed it. If you enjoy learning more about the world and society in which we live, this is a great experience. The docents leading the tours are volunteers; ours was a retired NYC school teacher wo was actually born in the area, and she did a terrific job. BTW, you do need a ticket, so check on the schedule.

I thought the housing museum was interesting, but no way was it a fun visit for me. Educational? Sure.
A little jolting, yes.

And I said it was grim reality.. Let us not deny that it was real, and we have people living in similar if not worse conditions in the US today, which I think is shameful.

Were the tenements a better life for those who came there? For the Irish who were starving to death and being thrown off their land, it was better because it was a means of survival.

My wife's Irish grandparents came through there. After they got better established, they moved to Brooklyn. It helped both of us understand my wife's origins better, but I don't know that the experience was one we will repeat.

Life isn't all pretty, and the housing there is a good reminder.

Ok, Bob brown, we get your point. No one said it was fun.So the OP said "neat" in describing the Tenement Museum. Grim or not, it's still a worthwhile experience, as you seem toimply it was for you and your wife.

Definitely worth going to. There is a tour of a tenement, a movie about the people who lived in them and a computer where you can look at some information regarding the tenements.

Be sure to make reservations. It was sold out when we tried to go while in NY in the spring for three days.

I will preface by saying that I am both a museum and New York addict, but one of my favorite days ever was visiting the Tenement Museum in the morning and the Frick Museum www.frick.org museum in the afternoon. The contrast between how the poor immigrants lived vs. how the elite rich lived has stayed with me since that day. It was like being in a time zone and in my opinion it doesn't get much better than that. And I didn't even have Nick Nolte on my tour! I have often recommended this day's itinerary day to others.

We considered it the highlight of a recent trip to New York. I believe there are various tour possibilities, and you need to reserve the tickets in advance as the tour groups are small. The tour makes an incredible impact in bringing back different eras. The two apartments we saw were lived in by a German-Jewish family in the 1880s and an Italian family in the 1930s, and certainly provided a graphic demonstration of living conditions of those eras. Highly recommended.

connette, what a great idea! I love the Frick - it's my favorite art museum in the city. I'm going to follow your suggestions the next time I've visiting the city with someone who hasn't been before.

We saw the TM several years ago and the memory still haunts(!) me. It is part of human history, and I suspect not limited to NYC or the US.

If you can wake up early, a nice day is to take one of the first (the best is to get the first..) ferries to Ellis Island(skipping the statue of liberty) : 1st step for an emigrant. Sure it's not "enjoyable" but keep in mind that only # 5% of the emigrants(or less) were not authorized to stay in NY.
Then, Lower East Side Tenement museum , but you have to make a reservation(you can have a lunch at Katz Delicatessen to stay in the atmosphere) and effectively going by subway to Frick museum or also the Cooper Hewitt(museum of design in the old house of Carnegie) and ending the day in Upper eat side where some of the emigrants realise their dreams...You can have dinner at PJ Clarke's .
We have made this day with our 2 daughters(17 and 11 years old) last year in April and they have been very interested and "copying" with emigrants...in mind...
A day of contrast but it's NY...
Erik.