History

Data@Museums

Lower East Side Tenement Museum

The Lower East Side Tenement Museum uses census data to tell the story
of some of the 7,000 tenants who lived at 97 Orchard Street from 1863 to 1935.

The Lower East Side Tenement Museum brings to life a vivid slice of the American immigrant experience. Using census data for some of the 7,000 tenants who lived at 97 Orchard Street from 1863 to 1935, visitors learn: how many people lived in each apartment, how many spoke English, and what sort of work they did. The museum investigates specific families to paint a far richer story of life in that household as they worked to find their American dream. For example:

• One mother had ten children, six of whom survived. The eldest child worked at home. The youngest child was a law student.
• A newly arrived watchmaker could not speak English, but his daughters did. He had been out of work for several months.
• A 58-year-old German tailor lived with his wife, the last representatives of an earlier wave of immigration.

These stories give shape to a larger story—the story of America. Learn more about these Lower East Side families and the Tenement Museum at http://www.tenement.org.