"Rebecca goes to the factory where Ana's brother and father work, and she's horrified at the terrible conditions, but she knows the workers desperately need their jobs."
Straight from the Piecing it Together tour!
- Posted by Kate
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Great Gifts: American Girl Doll
"Rebecca goes to the factory where Ana's brother and father work, and she's horrified at the terrible conditions, but she knows the workers desperately need their jobs."
Straight from the Piecing it Together tour!
- Posted by Kate
Monday, November 29, 2010
Great Gifts: Posters for the Irish
Looking for the perfect gift this holiday season? Stop by the museum shop at 108 Orchard! It's filled with a ton of cool items for everyone on your list: kids, history buffs, New York lovers, and even that person who's always hard to buy for. Check out 30 gifts under $30 right here.
The following are a few of my favorites and a quick look at some of the great merchandise we have at the shop.
I have grandmothers from Ireland on both sides of my family so I've always been intrigued by this poster. During the early days of Irish immigration to New York City, Irish men and women weren't always welcomed so warmly. This poster is meant to represent the old signs that may have adorned storefronts in New York, warning the Irish to stay away.
And of course, while an "Irish Need Not Apply" sign raises a lot of great questions, you'll have to get something to show your true feelings too. Don't worry. We've got you covered.
Stop by the shop at 108 Orchard Street or visit online to check out both posters and other great gift ideas!
- Posted by Joe Klarl
The following are a few of my favorites and a quick look at some of the great merchandise we have at the shop.
I have grandmothers from Ireland on both sides of my family so I've always been intrigued by this poster. During the early days of Irish immigration to New York City, Irish men and women weren't always welcomed so warmly. This poster is meant to represent the old signs that may have adorned storefronts in New York, warning the Irish to stay away.
And of course, while an "Irish Need Not Apply" sign raises a lot of great questions, you'll have to get something to show your true feelings too. Don't worry. We've got you covered.
Stop by the shop at 108 Orchard Street or visit online to check out both posters and other great gift ideas!
- Posted by Joe Klarl
Friday, November 26, 2010
Great Gifts: "Low Life" by Luc Sante
On this Black Friday, our museum shop at 108 Orchard is a frenzy of sales and shoppers looking for the perfect gift. They're no doubt hunting for our favorite 30 under $30 (found right here), a list of great gift items. Having looked around the shop a bit during my time at the Tenement Museum, I have my own personal favorites.
Low Life: Lures and Snares of Old New York by Luc Sante might not immediately bring holiday cheer to mind, but it is an absolutely fascinating read. Sante's version of New York's history is an incredibly well-researched, honest portrayal in which he brings the past to life like a work of great fiction. Bowery thugs, robber barons, the slums of Hell's Hundred Acres - you won't believe this stuff. Even Sante's introduction is packed with more great info than most other New York history books combined.
I love this book. I've read it and I've reread it and I've read it again. When I highlighted it in an article for my school newspaper a year ago, I wrote that "Sante, like an archeologist, digs at the earth of the city to find its early remnants, uncovering its most primal truths and motivations. In true New York fashion, he goes straight for the dirt." I still think that nothing captures the spirit of New York and its roots quite like this book, so do a favor for your loved ones this holiday season and get them Low Life ($17).
And remember, your Museum Shop purchases benefit the programs at the Tenement Museum! (Unlike shopping at Amazon, which benefits... Amazon's shareholders.)
So stop by the shop at 108 Orchard Street or visit online to check out Low Life and other great gift ideas!
- Posted by Joe
I love this book. I've read it and I've reread it and I've read it again. When I highlighted it in an article for my school newspaper a year ago, I wrote that "Sante, like an archeologist, digs at the earth of the city to find its early remnants, uncovering its most primal truths and motivations. In true New York fashion, he goes straight for the dirt." I still think that nothing captures the spirit of New York and its roots quite like this book, so do a favor for your loved ones this holiday season and get them Low Life ($17).
And remember, your Museum Shop purchases benefit the programs at the Tenement Museum! (Unlike shopping at Amazon, which benefits... Amazon's shareholders.)
So stop by the shop at 108 Orchard Street or visit online to check out Low Life and other great gift ideas!
- Posted by Joe
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Tonight at Tenement Talks: Comedy with a Serious Side
If you’ve visited the Tenement Museum, you may have been lucky enough to enjoy a tour led by Raj Varma. Raj moved to the States from New Zealand a few years ago. By day, he is one of our spirited and knowledgeable educators, helping visitors explore the history of 97 Orchard and the streets of the Lower East Side. By night, Raj is still exploring the story of immigration, but through a very different media. Raj is the co-writer and soul actor in New York’s showing of D’Arranged Marriage a comedy about Sanjay, a young man of Indian descent living in New Zealand who faces a pending arranged marriage. Raj plays all eight characters in the show, which is currently at the Triad. Tonight, those of you attending Tenement Talks will get to see Raj in action as he performs parts of the show for us.
Checking out clips of D'Arranged Marriage proves that this week's program is sure to be a lot of laughs, but many of the themes—generation gaps, culture clashes, ambition, community, family and belonging—are similar to those we explore here at the museum. Raj told me a little about how his work at the museum, his comedy, and even his personal story relate.
I wanted to know if he saw any parallels between the characters of D'Arranged Marriage and the people whose lives are represented at the Tenement Museum:
We got serious about comedy and Raj talked about the role artists and other members of the entertainment community play in breaking through stereotypes and prejudices:
I know D’Arranged Marriage is going to be a lot of fun. Moreover, I expect we'll get some insight into more recent waves and experiences of immigration. I hope to see you there!
Join us tonight at 6:30 pm at 108 Orchard Street. Doors open at 6:00 pm. As usual, this Tenement Talk is free and open to the public.
- Posted by Julia with special thanks to Joe Klarl
Checking out clips of D'Arranged Marriage proves that this week's program is sure to be a lot of laughs, but many of the themes—generation gaps, culture clashes, ambition, community, family and belonging—are similar to those we explore here at the museum. Raj told me a little about how his work at the museum, his comedy, and even his personal story relate.
I wanted to know if he saw any parallels between the characters of D'Arranged Marriage and the people whose lives are represented at the Tenement Museum:
We got serious about comedy and Raj talked about the role artists and other members of the entertainment community play in breaking through stereotypes and prejudices:
I know D’Arranged Marriage is going to be a lot of fun. Moreover, I expect we'll get some insight into more recent waves and experiences of immigration. I hope to see you there!
Join us tonight at 6:30 pm at 108 Orchard Street. Doors open at 6:00 pm. As usual, this Tenement Talk is free and open to the public.
- Posted by Julia with special thanks to Joe Klarl
Monday, November 22, 2010
From Russia with Love: A 1st Generation Cobbler and a 3rd Generation Educator
Erik Shoemaker spends most of his day behind the counter of his tiny shop on Grand Street, surrounded by boxes of shoes, jars of polish, hammers, buffers, and every tool needed to fix shoes no matter how tattered and broken. Erik moved to New York City from Russia when he was a teenager, and he quickly learned his family's trade. When he opened Erik Shoe Repair twenty-four years ago, he became a third-generation cobbler.
Erik and his family decided to leave Russia with a simple goal: to have a better life. After staying in Israel, they arrived in New York City in the 1980s. For him, the adjustment was fairly easy, because he could practice Judaism.
"You go freely to pray and wear a yarmulke without worrying," he says, comparing the US to his homeland. "It was the time of communism in Russia," and most religious practices were banned.
His faith is what brought him to the Lower East Side. When he first arrived in New York City, he learned to repair shoes with his brother-in-law on Fourteenth Street. He decided to open his shop further downtown because it was a predominately Jewish neighborhood at the time. He was able to speak Hebrew while he was learning English.
Erik has seen the Lower East Side change frequently and suddenly over the years. His Jewish community started moving to Queens and Long Island. Then there was a larger wave of Chinese immigrants. Lately, his customers have been mainly Americans and Europeans from the East Village, who he calls "the village people" with a slight smile. Despite all the changes, Erik still likes working in the neighborhood. "It's quiet," he says.
Want to know more about Russian and other Eastern European immigrants on the Lower East Side? Get the details on The Moores: An Irish Family in America, in which the title family is compared to the Russian-Jewish Katz family, or the tour Kathryn says is closest to her own family's history - Piecing It Together - here.
- Article by Kiley Edgley and Joe Klarl
 |
| Erik repairing shoes at his Lower East Side store. |
"You go freely to pray and wear a yarmulke without worrying," he says, comparing the US to his homeland. "It was the time of communism in Russia," and most religious practices were banned.
His faith is what brought him to the Lower East Side. When he first arrived in New York City, he learned to repair shoes with his brother-in-law on Fourteenth Street. He decided to open his shop further downtown because it was a predominately Jewish neighborhood at the time. He was able to speak Hebrew while he was learning English.
Erik has seen the Lower East Side change frequently and suddenly over the years. His Jewish community started moving to Queens and Long Island. Then there was a larger wave of Chinese immigrants. Lately, his customers have been mainly Americans and Europeans from the East Village, who he calls "the village people" with a slight smile. Despite all the changes, Erik still likes working in the neighborhood. "It's quiet," he says.
And Erik is certainly well known around here. In 2007, New York Magazine named him the best shoe repair shop in the Lower East Side. His award is proudly displayed on his door. He says he won because he's "fast, and I do a good job." How fast? The article says that Erik once did a reheeling job while a taxi idled on the sidewalk.
****
Back at the museum, Kathryn Lloyd, an educator who has led all of the Tenement Museum's building and neighborhood tours, also has a history deeply rooted in Eastern Europe and the Lower East Side, though hers begins with her great grandparents. Listen as she discusses how her family directly influenced her career as an educator and the way in which she approaches the hardships of immigration, past and present.Want to know more about Russian and other Eastern European immigrants on the Lower East Side? Get the details on The Moores: An Irish Family in America, in which the title family is compared to the Russian-Jewish Katz family, or the tour Kathryn says is closest to her own family's history - Piecing It Together - here.
- Article by Kiley Edgley and Joe Klarl
And the Artifact is...
Did you guess the true use of the artifact from Friday?
This old gadget is actually a rotary knife sharpener!
This old gadget is actually a rotary knife sharpener!
A knife sharpener like this one would have been used in the Israel Lustgarten butcher shop at 97 Orchard Street during the 1890s, which will be featured in our upcoming business exhibition. The end would have been nailed onto a counter top or workspace. Then, a butcher would simply line a knife up to the sturdy metal wheel and rotate the hand crank on the opposite side. Finally, the wheel would grind into the butcher's blade to insure it was sharp and effective.
Make sure to check back on Friday to guess our next mystery artifact!
-Posted by Joe Klarl
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