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Immigrant Experience Tour |
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New York City is often referred to as "The Culture Melting Pot." What makes New York City the greatest city in the world is that it is a city of the world. There are more languages spoken in New York City then any other city in the world. Ever since the Dutch settled Manhattan in 1624, this tiny island has become a magnet for people searching to start a new life. Some came to escape religious, economic, and political persecution, some to fulfill a childhood dream, some to re-invent themselves. One of the largest waves of immigration to New York City happened between the mid 19th century through the early 20th century. The Irish, Germans, Italians, and Eastern European Jews risked their lives on the treacherous journey across the Atlantic to begin a new life. Some boarded trains and headed off to other states, but millions decided to make their homes in New York City.
The Lower East Side of Manhattan became the epicenter of the immigrant experience. These are the people that paved our streets, dug the eerie canal, built our first skyscrapers, and risked their lives for future generations. Sites include: Little Italy, Di Palo's Fine Foods, Ferrara's, The Stabile Bank, Chinatown, Pell Street, The Bloody Angle, Church of the Transfiguration, The Old Five Points, Columbus Park, The Lower East Side, Hester Street, Jarmulovsky Bank, The Forward Building, The Eldridge Street Synagogue, The Bowery, The Hotel Providence, The Old Bowery Bank, The Old Saint Patrick's Cathedral, Canal Street and more. |
