I read an article about the Tenement Museum in the New Yorker magazine (Yes, I subscribe to the New Yorker magazine although I live in Japan) and had been interested to visiting it. So here I was.
As I got to the museum, the tour was just about to begin. I purchased a ticket in the nick of time. "Irish Outsiders" was the one I wanted to experience, but it was already full. So I took the “Hard Times” tour which consisted of 10 folks from various parts of the US. The guide was very friendly and knowledgeable and she first let each of us introduce ourselves. One gentleman was from Madison, WI, and one lady was from Minneapolis, MN, a couple was here from New York City. I was the only one from a foreign country. “But hey, these folk's ancestors are all from foreign countries after all. That's what this tour is all about! And that is America!” I said to myself. I was so excited, feeling sort of like back in the days when I was a student. |
Our tour team walked up the staircases dimly lit. As I entered the room, my first impression was that it was stuffy and everything was squeezed. I saw all the dishes and furniture kept intact and learned about how the room was used by the families who lived there. Above all, there was no insulation or air conditioning, I could get a "sense" of what it was like to live there. It was truly a precious experience. |
| Outside after the two-hour tour, the air was so fresh. I was so thirsty that I drank a bottle of Snapple iced tea. In this five-story building for about 70 years since 1863, I couldn't believe as many as 7,000 immigrants lived in this apartment! |
Right across the street was a tall unique building rising into the sky. It is a complex condo. I wondered how the immigrants at that time could have imagined a futuristic building like this would be built near their residence? This big blue building… |
