SHOP LIFE

Made possible by The David Berg Foundation

Family-run stores filled the lower level of 97 Orchard for over a century, where they struggled to adapt to an ever-changing neighborhood and achieve the American Dream. Visit the 1870s German saloon of John and Caroline Schneider, and use interactive media to trace the stories of turn-of-the-century kosher butchers, a 1930s auctioneer, and 1970s undergarment discounters.

Limited Wheelchair Capacity
Call 1-877-97LESTM in advance for wheelchair tickets.

Ground floor - 90 minutes - Recommended Ages 12+

SWEATSHOP WORKERS

Pay a visit to the Levine family's garment workshop and the Rogarshevskys' Sabbath table at the turn of the 20th century, when the Lower East Side was the most densely populated place in the world. Explore how immigrants balanced work, family and religion at a time of great change.

3rd Floor - 1 Hour - Recommended Ages 8 +

HARD TIMES

Discover how immigrants survived economic depressions at 97 Orchard Street between 1863 and 1935. Visit the restored homes of the German-Jewish Gumpertz family, whose patriarch disappeared during the Panic of 1873, and the Italian-Catholic Baldizzi family, who lived through the Great Depression.

2nd Floor - 1 Hour - Recommended Ages 8 +

IRISH OUTSIDERS

Experience the heart of the immigrant saga through the music of Irish America, then tour the restored home of the Moore family, Irish-Catholic immigrants who left their home in the Five Points to start a new life in Kleindeutschland. Explore how this family dealt with being 'outsiders' in 97 Orchard and how they coped with the death of their child in 1869.

4th Floor - 1 Hour - Recommended Ages 12 +

HARD TIMES: TOUR AND DISCUSSION

Spend extended time inside the Gumpertz and Baldizzi apartments and join in a discussion about themes arising from the tour. Share your experiences, thoughts and family histories with your educator and fellow visitors.

2nd Floor - 2 Hours - Recommended Ages 12 +

EXPLORING 97 ORCHARD

 Go behind the scenes at the Tenement Museum and explore the layers of history in the tenement’s physical fabric. Learn how legislation and fashion spurred landlords and tenants to leave their mark on the building, and how paint experts, wallpaper conservators and urban archeologists "read" these layers to uncover 97 Orchard's stories.
* Offered only on Thursdays

1st, 2nd, & 4th Floors - 90 Minutes - Recommended Ages 12+

SWEATSHOP WORKERS: TOUR & DISCUSSION

Spend extended time inside the Levine and Rogarshevsky apartments and join in a discussion about themes arising from the tour. Share your experiences, thoughts and family histories with your educator and fellow visitors.

3rd Floor - 2 Hours - Recommended Ages 12 +

TASTINGS AT THE TENEMENT

Taste a variety of foods from the neighborhood while exploring the influence of immigrant culture on what all Americans eat. Your group starts with a visit to 97 Orchard Street and continues with a sit-down tasting meal in our private dining room overlooking Delancey Street. As the group tastes the flavors of the Lower East Side past and present, they share stories about their most memorable culinary experiences and watch interviews of local store owners who sold us the foods we'll be eating.

This tour is air conditioned.

90 minutes - Recommended Ages 8+
Thursday evenings at 6:30

VICTORIA CONFINO

Visit the apartment of a Greek Sephardic family and meet a costumed interpreter playing 14-year-old Victoria Confino, who lived in the tenement in 1916. Visitors take on the role of newly arrived immigrants, and ask Victoria questions about adjusting to life on the Lower East Side . Designed for families, this tour allows visitors to handle household objects. 

Made possible by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation

Recommended for visitors with low vision.

1st Floor - 1 Hour - Recommended Ages 5 +

LIVE! AT THE TENEMENT

Meet the residents of 97 Orchard Street and explore multiple apartments in the Tenement Museum – an experience not available on any other tour. Connect to the experience of living in the building by interacting with actors portraying members of the Moore (1868), Levine (1898), and Baldizzi (1935) families. The program is a special opportunity to learn about the daily lives of these residents and how their hopes and aspirations intersected with an ever-changing Lower East Side.

citations proverbes

2nd, 3rd, and 4th Floors - 90 minutes - Recommended Ages 10+

TENEMENT INSPECTORS

Take on the role of housing inspectors in 1906. The assignment: investigate 97 Orchard Street to see if the building is up to code, and interview actors portraying the building’s landlord and tenant to get both sides of the story. In 1901, New York State passed the landmark Tenement Housing Act, responding to hazardous and unsanitary tenement conditions. Come find out if 97 Orchard was in compliance, and delve into the broader questions of social justice and housing.

citations proverbes

1st Floor 90 minutes Recommended Ages 8+

STOREFRONT STORIES

For more than a century, Orchard Street has been the heart ofthe Lower East Side's historic shopping district. Explore this vibrant community of small businesses, and compare the experiences of immigrant entrepreneurs in the past and present. Visit the site of the iconic Eckstein's clothing store, where generations of New Yorkers haggled for deals, as well as the neighborhood's present-day boutiques and galleries.

Limited Wheelchair Capacity
Call 1-877-97LESTM in advance for wheelchair tickets.

75 Minutes - Recommended Ages 8 +

FOODS OF THE LOWER EAST SIDE

Taste dumplings, fried plantains, cream puffs and more while exploring the immigrant experience and some of the ways immigrant foods have shaped American food. Note: This tour does not enter any buildings, other than a short introduction and conclusion in our Visitors Center.

Limited Wheelchair Capacity
Call 1-877-97LESTM in advance for wheelchair tickets.

2 Hours - Recommended Ages 8 +

OUTSIDE THE HOME

See the Lower East Side through the eyes of the immigrants who have lived here for 150 years. Discover the towering Jarmulowsky Bank building, where immigrants deposited (and eventually lost) their life savings; the Daily Forward building, where socialists fought for worker rights; and PS 42, where generations of immigrants learned how to be "American." [Note: This tour does not enter any buildings.]

Limited Wheelchair Capacity
Call 1-877-97LESTM in advance for wheelchair tickets.

1 Hour 30 Minutes - Recommended Ages 8 +

THEN & NOW

History didn’t make the Lower East Side; people did. This tour tells the story of how neighborhood residents for the past 100 years have fought to preserve their community and improve their neighborhood in the face of profound economic and political change. [Note: This tour does not enter any buildings.]

Limited Wheelchair Capacity
Call 1-877-97LESTM in advance for wheelchair tickets.

2 Hours - Recommended Ages 8 +