UNDER ONE ROOF

Brand New Tour! In the decades after World War II, the Lower East Side became one of New York’s most diverse neighborhoods. Visit the homes of Bella Epstein, whose parents survived the Holocaust, Jose and Andy Velez, whose mother left Puerto Rico for garment work, and the Wong siblings, whose stories of their mother and other garment workers are highlighted in an interactive, recreated Chinatown garment shop.

Limited Wheelchair Capacity; Accessible by Elevator

Call 1-877-97LESTM in advance for wheelchair tickets.

3rd Floor - 90 Minutes - Recommended Ages 8 +

SHOP LIFE

Made possible by The David Berg Foundation

Family-run stores filled the lower level of 97 Orchard for over a century, where they struggled to adapt to an ever-changing neighborhood and achieve the American Dream. Visit the 1870s German saloon of John and Caroline Schneider, and use interactive media to trace the stories of turn-of-the-century kosher butchers, a 1930s auctioneer, and 1970s undergarment discounters.

Limited Wheelchair Capacity
Call 1-877-97LESTM in advance for wheelchair tickets.

Ground floor - 90 minutes - Recommended Ages 12+

SWEATSHOP WORKERS

Pay a visit to the Levine family’s garment workshop and the Rogarshevsky’s Sabbath table at the turn of the 20^th century, when the Lower East Side was the most densely populated place in the world. Explore how immigrants balanced work, family, and religion at a time of great change.

3rd Floor - 1 Hour - Recommended Ages 8 +

HARD TIMES

Discover how immigrants survived economic depressions at 97 Orchard Street between 1863 and 1935. Visit the restored homes of the German-Jewish Gumpertz family, whose patriarch disapeared during the panic of 1873, and the Italian-Catholic Baldizzi family, who lived through the Great Depression of the 1930s.

2nd Floor - 1 Hour - Recommended Ages 8 +

IRISH OUTSIDERS

Meet the Moores, an immigrant family struggling with prejudice while celebrating their Irish identity in 1869 New York. Visit their restored home as they prepare for the City's renowned St. Patrick's Day parade. Through their experience, you will discover how immigrants from different backgrounds forge their own American identities.

4th Floor - 1 Hour - Recommended Ages 8+

HARD TIMES: TOUR AND DISCUSSION

Spend extended time inside the Baldizzi apartments and join in a discussion about themes arising from the tour. Share your experiences, thoughts and family histories with your educator and fellow visitors.

2nd Floor - 2 Hours - Recommended Ages 12 +

EXPLORING 97 ORCHARD

 Go behind the scenes at the Tenement Museum and explore the layers of history in the tenement’s physical fabric. Learn how legislation and fashion spurred landlords and tenants to leave their mark on the building, and how paint experts, wallpaper conservators and urban archeologists "read" these layers to uncover 97 Orchard's stories.
* Offered only on Thursdays

1st, 2nd, & 4th Floors - 90 Minutes - Recommended Ages 12+

SWEATSHOP WORKERS: TOUR & DISCUSSION

Spend extended time inside the Rogarshevsky apartments and join in a discussion about themes arising from the tour. Share your experiences, thoughts and family histories with your educator and fellow visitors.

3rd Floor - 2 Hours - Recommended Ages 12 +

TASTINGS AT THE TENEMENT

Taste a variety of foods from the neighborhood while exploring the influence of immigrant culture on what all Americans eat. Your group starts with a visit to 97 Orchard Street and continues with a sit-down tasting meal in our private dining room overlooking Delancey Street. As the group tastes the flavors of the Lower East Side past and present, they share stories about their most memorable culinary experiences and watch interviews of local store owners who sold us the foods we'll be eating.

This tour is air conditioned.

90 minutes - Recommended Ages 8+
Thursday evenings at 6:30

A Day in the Life: Rogarshevsky Family

Explore the story of the Rogarshevsky family, featured on our Sweatshop Workers tour. Visit the family’s home inside our historic tenement building at 97 Orchard Street in 1911, then continue the journey outside and see the neighborhood through the eyes of the Rogarshevskys. This tour is available on Thursday evenings in July.

3rd Floor and a quarter mile walk in the neighborhood/ 75 Minutes/ Recommended Ages 8 +

VICTORIA CONFINO

Drop in on 14-year-old Victoria Confino, who lived in 97 Orchard Street in 1916, to hear about the immigrant experience in a more intimate setting. Tour her apartment, ask her questions about her life, and get a unique perspective on adjusting to life on the Lower East Side.

Made possible by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation

Recommended for visitors with low vision.

Made possible by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation

Recommended for visitors with low vision.

1st Floor - 1 Hour - Recommended Ages 5 +

LIVE! AT THE TENEMENT

Meet the residents of 97 Orchard Street and explore multiple apartments in the Tenement Museum – an experience not available on any other tour. Connect to the experience of living in the building by interacting with actors portraying members of the Moore (1868), Levine (1898), and Baldizzi (1935) families. The program is a special opportunity to learn about the daily lives of these residents and how their hopes and aspirations intersected with an ever-changing Lower East Side.

2nd, 3rd, and 4th Floors - 90 minutes - Recommended Ages 8+

TENEMENT INSPECTORS

Step into the dark corners and cramped spaces of 97 Orchard Street. The year is 1906, and visitors meet the landlord and a resident to learn firsthand about the realities of tenement life on the Lower East Side. Who is responsible for providing a safe and healthy home? Everything may not be as it seems.

1st Floor ‐ 90 minutes ‐ Recommended Ages 8+

LAST CALL! At Schneider's Saloon

 Visit with John and Caroline Schneider, the married proprietors of 97 Orchard Street's first, and longest-lived business. This program is a special opportunity to learn firsthand about striving for success in the heart of New York's German immigrant neighborhood in 1874, a year of economic crisis and contentious politics. The tour also features interactive media. This program is available on Thursday, September 20th and October 18th. 

Limited Wheelchair Capacity 
Call 1-877-97LESTM in advance for wheelchair tickets.

Ground floor - 90 minutes - Recommended Ages 8+

BUILDING ON THE LOWER EAST SIDE

Every building on the Lower East Side tells its own story. On this tour you’ll hear some of those stories and learn about the architects, artists and everyday people who influenced the design and use of this neighborhood’s buildings and shaped the streetscape you see today.[Note: This tour does not enter any buildings.]

Limited Wheelchair Capacity
Call 1-877-97LESTM in advance for wheelchair tickets.

2 Hours - Recommended Ages 8 +

OUTSIDE THE HOME

See the Lower East Side through the eyes of the immigrants who have lived here for 150 years. Discover the towering Jarmulowsky Bank building, where immigrants deposited (and eventually lost) their life savings; the Daily Forward building, where socialists fought for worker rights; and PS 42, where generations of immigrants learned how to be "American." [Note: This tour does not enter any buildings.]

Limited Wheelchair Capacity
Call 1-877-97LESTM in advance for wheelchair tickets.

1 Hour 30 Minutes - Recommended Ages 8 +

THEN & NOW

History didn’t make the Lower East Side; people did. This tour tells the story of how neighborhood residents for the past 100 years have fought to preserve their community and improve their neighborhood in the face of profound economic and political change. [Note: This tour does not enter any buildings.]

Limited Wheelchair Capacity
Call 1-877-97LESTM in advance for wheelchair tickets.

2 Hours - Recommended Ages 8 +

Foods of the Lower East Side

Taste dumplings, fried plantains, cream puffs, and more while exploring the immigrant experience and some of the ways immigrant foods have shape American food. Note: This tour does not enter any buildings, other than a short introduction and conclusion in our Visitor Center.

Limited Wheelchair Capacity 
Call 1-877-97LESTM in advance for wheelchair tickets.

2 Hours - Recommended Ages 8 +