”These vagabond shoes, Are longing to stray, Right through the very heart of it…..New York, New York” from the Movie of the same name
Today we woke up to a cold, blistering, rainy winter’s day – in MAY! We even overheard New Yorkers on the subway talking about how they had to pull out their cold gear after storing it for the summer … even the doggies were wearing booties in the subway.
Today we visited The Lower East Side Tenement Museum located in the Lower East Side neighborhood of Manhattan. The Museum’s two historical tenement buildings were home to an estimated 15,000 people, from over 20 nations, between 1863 and 1935. The museum, founded in 1988, promotes tolerance and a historical perspective on the immigrant experience.
The building, at 97 Orchard Street, was built by Prussian-born immigrant, Lukas Glockner, in 1863 and was modified several times to conform with the city’s developing housing laws. When first constructed, it contained 22 apartments and a basement level saloon. Over time, four stoop-level and two basement apartments were converted into commercial retail space, leaving 16 apartments in the building.
Modifications over the years included the installation of indoor plumbing (cold running water, two hall toilets per floor), an air shaft, and gas followed by electricity. In 1935, rather than continuing to modify the building (wood staircases), the landlord evicted the residents, boarded the upper windows, and sealed the upper floors, leaving only the stoop-level and basement storefronts open for business. Abandoned, it became a ghost relic. No further changes were made until the Lower East Side Tenement Museum became involved with the building. As such, the building stands as a kind of time capsule, reflecting 19th and early 20th-century living conditions and the changing notions of what constitutes acceptable housing.
They offered several tours on immigrant life … we choose “Irish Outsiders” (our friend, Eileen Lynch, joined us). It followed the story of the Moore Family, from 1863, the only Irish family living in the building fully occupied at the time by Germans. Our exuberant and energetic young guide, Tressa, a Queens native, recounted tales of life in the tenement. Carrying water and coal 5 stories up pitch black narrow stairways … sharing 5 outhouses with 22 other families in the building’s tiny backyard. You can see on the walls the passing of times and the personal imprint the families left behind in the form of 21 layers of wallpaper and as many layers of paint.
I previously visited the museum, so this is my second view into a different group of immigrants. David and I spoke about our next trip to New York returning back and selecting another tour…it’s worth the visit. Btw … David’s early Greenwich Village apt. was in a 1900 tenement (99 MacDougal St.) … a bit more “luxurious” in accommodations than the Moore’s.
Today David ordered for lunch the newest version of the vegetarian burger, the Impossible Burger. It’s supposed to imitate beef’s color, taste, and texture …my bite of it found it rubbery and tasteless; as well my black bean burger was so heavily seasoned with cumin that I had to douse it in ketchup. So much for healthy dining in the Big Apple, right?! Later on, our pre-theatre dinner was an Italian restaurant; the minestrone was hot and flavorful, but my black ink linguine pasta with crab was overly rich.
Our first show – “The Secret Life of Bees,” based on the book by Sue Monk, which was adapted as a film in 2008. Now, the premier Off-Broadway production of a powerful, emotional musical; crossing a vast array of musical styles by Duncan Sheik: jazz, rockabilly, gospel to African spirituals. The musical’s staging is bare of scenery, except for a few honey hives, chairs, tables, and the ever-present statue of the Black Madonna, a very strong and powerful force in the production. Lynn Nottage, Pulitzer Prize winner, wrote the book to it.
The play opened on Mother’s Day, so it’s still in previews; a few kinks still need to work out (Lynn Nottage sat in the last row banging on her laptop) … during a powerful duet between the sisters, June and August (the Tony Award winner, LaChanz), their strong voices were drowned out by over orchestration.
Overall, the audience was very receptive – springing to their feet for a standing ovation. Now waiting for the NYC Times critic’s review next month (!) – whatever his opinion, this musical moved me to tears; no matter how we evolve, we have yet to learn how to act humanly towards others that are different from us.
