Lower East Side Tenement National Historic Site preserves a six-story brick tenement building that was home to an estimated 7,000 people, from over 20 nations, between 1863 and 1935. Located at 97 Orchard Street on the Lower East Side neighborhood of Manhattan in New York, New York, the structure was opened by Lukas Glockner and was modified several times to conform with the city's developing housing laws. The top two floors contain rooms, wallpaper, plumbing, and lighting preserved as they were left in 1935, when they were boarded up and sealed until their discovery in 1988. The building is able to convey a vivid sense of the deplorable living conditions experienced by its tenants.
The tenement building is the heart of the Lower East Side Tenement Museum which promotes tolerance and historical perspective at this gateway to America. The museum and tenement are open for public tours.
The museum's exhibits include restored apartments that depict the lives of newly arrived immigrants during various time periods in American history. The museum also has an extensive collection of historical archives, and provides a variety of educational programs.
The tenement was designated a National Historic Landmark on April 19, 1994. The National Historic Site was authorized on November 12, 1998. The site received a Save America's Treasures matching grant for $250,000 in 2000 for preservation work. It is an affiliated area of the National Park Service. The tenement is owned and administered by the Lower East Side Tenement Museum.
B or D trains to Grand Street.
Exit at Grand and Chrystie. Walk east (away from Bowery) for four blocks. Take a left at Orchard Street and walk north for two blocks. The Visitors Center is at 108 Orchard Street, between Delancey and Broome, near Delancey.
F to Delancey Street or the J, M or Z to Essex Street.
Once you get off any of these subways, walk two blocks away from the Williamsburg Bridge (west) to Orchard Street, turn left and walk 1/2 block south. The Visitors Center is at 108 Orchard Street, between Delancey and Broome, near Delancey.
These busses stop at the corner of Grand and Allen Streets. Exit the bus and walk one block east to Orchard Street. Then walk one 1/2 block north towards Delancey Street. The Visitors Center is between Delancey and Broome, near Delancey.