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Lower East Side Tour: Immigrant History and Transformation
4.7
12 Ratings
New York
Explore the rich, tragic, and redemptive history of NYC’s Lower East Side. Discover immigrant life, tenement housing, and cultural evolution on this captivating tour.
Duration:
3 hours
Cancellation:
1 day
learn more
Highlights
- Foley Square - We begin at the former sites of The Five Points neighborhood and Mulberry Bend, one-time notorious slums in New York City’s history. The focus is on the “tenement,” the early purpose-built housing for the working class, mostly immigrant poor whose history begins not far from this spot.
- Columbus Park - Jacob Riis and his seminal work, How the Other Half Lives, helps bring to life the past communities that once occupied the site of today’s Columbus Park, between Chinatown and the Court District.
- Lower East Side - The heart of the tour is along the blocks of the Lower East Side and the non-stop tenement buildings that proliferated in the Lower East Side from the mid-19th to the early-20th Centuries. Not all tenements were associated with slum communities, though living conditions could be hard. We’ll identify different tenements types from different eras, and witness the decades-long process of tenement evolution following advancing laws.
- Manhattan Bridge - We will have a stunning view of the Municipal Building and the Woolworth Building East Broadway, one of Chinatowns most vibrant street scenes with hidden-in-plain-sight historic gems.
- Museum at Eldridge Street - One of the most beautiful edifices in the city, The Eldridge Street Synagogue begins discussion of the Jewish experience in the Lower East Side, who, like the massive immigrant waves before them, have their own unique story to tell.
- Seward Park - One of the first parks in the neighborhood. It was so crowded on opening day it was standing room only. Here, an array of photos from Jacob Riis’ How the Other Half Lives brings the past to life.
- Forward Building - A newspaper that was an institution for the Jewish community.
- Tenement Museum - We pass the back of the museum where they replicate tenement life. Outhouses and clothes line help transport one back in time.
- Williamsburg Bridge - DeLancey Street was the clothing discount outlet center of the past.
- Allen Street - The Allen Street bath house functioned as such from 1905 until 1975, along with about a dozen in the area. This one lasted the longest and was converted to a church.
- Hotel Indigo Lower East Side New York, an IHG Hotel - We end the tour on the rooftop of Hotel Indigo. Here we’ll be be able to see a bird’s eye view of the different tenement types, along with a spectacular view of Midtown, a perfect way to end the tour.
What's Included
- Local guide
- Professional guide
What's Not Included
- Gratuities
Additional Information
From the Five Points and Mulberry Bend, through the Italian and Jewish immigrant waves, and finally what is today’s Chinatown, this tour explores the development of a rustic landscape of lakes and farms into what became the mostly densely overcrowded neighborhood on earth barely 100 years ago. The incremental step-by-step process of putting the need for adequate housing over the drive for profit to house the immigrant poor, from disease-ridden cellar dwelling in tumble down shanties. to pre-, old- and new-law tenements, this tour uses pictures to show what is no longer there, and finds what continues to stand in the street walls today to tell the immensely rich, tragic and redemptive story of New York’s Lower East Side.
- wear comfortable walking shoes
- snacks and water are recommended to revitalize
Location
Foley Square
Centre Street
Tour starts nearby the sculpture, Triumph of the Human Spirit, at Foley Square
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
4.7
(12 Ratings)
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Ayn_c
Aug 19, 2024
Tenement History Tour - The tour guide was excellent. Really knew his stuff and his passion for the subject was infectious. My friend and I put his tour as one of the best experiences we had in New York
Review provided by Viator
Manon
Jul 7, 2024
Curious about the development of Manhattan? Take this tour! - A wonderful and thoughtful tour including the history of the development of Manhattan. The tour focuses on the lower east side of Manhattan which is where 5-points and Chinatown originate. Truly worthwhile if you're a history person or you like learning cool stuff about urban development from a housing perspective. Five stars!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Mark
May 17, 2024
Very informative. We learned so much. - The tour was amazing. We learned so much in about 2.5 hours. Our tour guide is very well informed and we got a detailed account accompanied with photos. The time just flew by.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Stephanie
Dec 30, 2019
Amazing tour of the history of New York’s tenements - Rob is an expert on the history of the tenements and immigration of the 1800’s and up. I live in New York and learn so many new things, the tour was the best we have done. Highly recommend.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jeffg1993
Dec 26, 2019
Super Informative Look at the History of Low Income Housing in NYC/Lower East Side - Robert was great, giving us a terrific perspective of the history of low income housing in the Lower East Side, and the succession of immigrant populations who passed through there. His binder of charts and pictures he shared with us as we walked was very helpful, as we saw how things changed over the years legally, architecturally, and geographically. Would definitely recommend for someone with a serious interest in the socio-economic and political history of the area. We also did two tours out of the Tenement Museum, and there was enough variation between the three that we didn't feel like it was too redundant. My wife and I were the only ones on the tour that day, and he was extremely easy to talk to, and took us on a few diversions because of our unique questions and interests.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Rhodajoyner
Dec 8, 2019
Manhattan UnLocked-Robert Amell-Superb! - We were amazed at the knowledge that Robert Amell shared with us. He was well organized and well-versed on the history of housing in New York City. He answered our many questions and was very gracious to spend so much time with us. Our eyes were opened and we want to know even more now. His tour was far beyond our expectations. Plus Mr. Amell was friendly and knew little spots tucked in along the way where we seniors could stop for a bathroom break or an egg cream. If you are interested in history, take this tour. We really enjoyed it.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Daydream09537729925
Nov 22, 2019
Such an Interesting Tour - My friend and loved this tour! The guide is so incredibly knowledgeable, we left having learned a lot. Learning about what it was like to immigrate to NYC is so interesting. This tour is a great complement to the things you learn about at Ellis Island and the Tenement Museum. If you are concerned about this being redundant to those things, it is not!
Review provided by Viator
Patricia
Oct 19, 2019
Wonderful tour!! - We were visiting NYC with friends and found this tour. Rob was a phenomenal resource and we couldn't have enjoyed our experience more! We learned so much about the immigrant history and housing. We would definitely take another tour with Rob. Thanks for a wonderful NYC experience!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Abbeflitter
Oct 13, 2019
Excellent tour! - Robert was an incredibly knowledgeable tour guide. He brought the immigrant experience to life for us. We’re still talking about the hidden corners of the lower east side - those easily missed - he found for us.
Review provided by Viator
Cam_j
Apr 13, 2020
Scam - Our tickets printed from the website had 10 a.m. at one point and 1 p.m. at another. We saw 1 p.m. and didn't question it to look the ticket over to see a different time elsewhere. We showed up at the statue at 1 p.m. waited 20 minutes and no one showed. Then we scrutinized the tickets and saw two different times listed. Apparently 10 a.m. was correct and 1 p.m. was a misprint.
We walked to the Tenement Museum, which we thought from your website, we had to take one of your tours to get in. When we showed them the tickets to see if we could still get in, they said the tour had nothing to do with them.
I don't see any way I could search the Tenement Museum and end up on your website led to believe the only way we could visit it was to take one of your tours, without being intentionally mislead by you, just as we were mislead by your tickets. I feel scammed.
Review provided by Viator
