Think About It: Where is the most crowded place you have ever been? Was it Times Square? The subway during rush hour? Well, the Lower East Side once topped them all! Over 100 years ago this neighborhood was the most densely populated place on the face of the earth! One of the things that made these streets so packed were pushcarts. In a time before supermarkets, pushcart markets, like the one in this 1898 photo, were places where families could buy everything from food, clothing, furniture and more! Take a Poll: At a pushcart market you could buy all sorts of things just for a penny! Here are some of the things you could buy with your hard earned pennies. What would you buy? Spot the Difference: Go to Google Maps and type in 38 Orchard Street. Compare the Google Map image with the historic photo. In what ways has the street changed? Has anything remained the same? (Hint: Look for the buildings all the way in the back of the photo)

In this photo we see can several tenement buildings. A typical tenement building was five to seven stories high and contained about 20 apartments, with storefronts on the ground floor. These apartment were very small and narrow, and often has as many as 10-12 people living in them. Tenements lacked electricity, heat, ventilation and indoor plumbing. Privies (outdoor toilets) and the water were located in yards behind the buildings. These buildings are also known as walkups Think About It: What types of challenges do you think families faced living inside these tenements? Spot the Difference: Go to Google Maps and type in 25 Ludlow Street. Is the building still there? What changes do you notice?

There were some places where immigrants could find sanctuary from the hustle and bustle of the neighborhood. one of these places was the Eldridge Street Synagogue. Built in 1887, the Eldridge Street was the first grand house of worship built by Eastern European Jews in the United States. With its grand architecture and magnificent stained glass windows, Eldridge Street became a place where immigrants could proudly practice their traditions while also creating a new American-Jewish identity. By the 1920's due to a changing a neighborhood and restrictive immigration laws, attendance declined and the building fell into a dilapidated state. After undergoing a massive restoration the synagogue is now home to the Museum at EldridgeStreet. The museum offers a variety of resources and activities for kids.Visit the Learning From Home Page Listen Singing in the synagogue is an important Jewish tradition. In the 1800's many synagogues hired cantors to lead their services. Cantors are renown for their beautiful voices. Click on this stop to hear a modern recording of cantorial music.

Imagine it's the year 1912 and you are a Jewish immigrant who lives and works on the LES. You have been saving your money, but don't trust putting your savings in a bank. You read in the paper that Sender Jarmulowsky's new bank has just opened and you go to see it. Upon visiting how do you feel about opening an account there? Banker and Eldridge Street Synagogue founder Sender Jarmulowsky constructed this building as his bank’s new home in 1912. With its grandiose height, stone base, and luxurious lobby, Sender was sending a statement that his bank was dependable, trustworthy, and successful. Originally from Poland, he also understood the importance of operating banks that met the financial needs of fellow immigrants. Yiddish and Russian speaking tellers facilitated banking transactions and his bank was open Sunday, which allowed observant Jews to take care of their financial needs on the weekend. Sender also provided an important service-the sale of boat tickets. This service was integral to immigrants who were often saving their money specifically to bring relatives over from Europe and whose relatives could then pick up the tickets in Europe.

Think About It: Who do you turn to when you need advice? Long before Google, Alexa and YouTube Tutorials, there were newspapers. Jewish immigrants wishing to learn about the news, politics and culture of America could read The Jewish Daily Forward. Founded in 1897, The Forward was a Socialist paper dedicated to causes such as the Labor Movement and Suffrage. In 1906, the paper introduced an advice column called A Bintel Brief. Meaning "A Bundle of Letters" in Yiddish", the column was designed to help immigrants navigate the challenges and identity that new immigrants faced. Quite often the people sending in the questions were the children of immigrants. Activity: Access primary source materials and try your hand at being an advice columnist with our Bintel Brief Curriculum.

It's the start of the school year, and you’re a nervous, 6‐year‐old Jewish girl. You grew up in a small town in Russia and while your brothers attended cheder (a school that teaches Jewish religion and Hebrew), this is your first day of school ever! You wonder: Will the American teacher welcome you? Will the students? And how will you do well if you don’t speak English? Public schools like P.S. 42 served thousands of immigrant children. In addition to Reading, Writing and Arithmetic, students were taught "how to be American." In 1898 this idea included reciting the Pledge of Allegiance and singing of the Star Spangled Banner and an uplifting Christian hymn. All classes were conducted in English and dual-language programs were nonexistent. Think About It: What do you think an American school should look like today? What subjects should be taught?

Imagine living in a neighborhood where no parks or playgrounds existed. Where would you play? For thousands of Lower East Side children, this was a reality. Children spent their time playing outside on crowded and dirty streets. This caught the attention of Progressive Era reformers who were working to improve the quality of life for people in the neighborhood. In 1903 the Outdoor Recreation League helped to establish Seward Park and Playground, the first city playground in the United States. Did You Know: According to a 1903 New York Times, article on the opening day of of the playground, “the crowd of 20,000 children present took matters into their own hands, mobbed the gates and swarmed into the 5,000 seats which had been reserved for school children and others." Listen: Ever wonder what types of games kids played a long time ago? Click on Stop G to listen to a clip of museum docent Gil Gordon talk about growing up on the Lower East Side.

Did you know? Seward Park Library was one of 65 NYPL branches built with funds from Andrew Carnegie. When the Seward Park Library opened in 1909, it provided access to books in English, Yiddish and Italian. Every Friday afternoon hundreds of children would crowd the halls and stairwells of this library excitedly awaiting checkout.

Imagine it's 1927 and you are a Jewish teenager living on the LES. You and your friends have a free afternoon and some spending money. Where are you going to spend that money? Built in 1926, the Loew’s Canal Theatre had 2,300 seats and was the second largest motion picture theater when it opened in 1927. Because these theaters were so big and fancy, they were known as movie palaces. And what was it like to go to a movie palace? Comedian, actor and Lower East Sider Jerry Stiller recalled going to the Loews Canal as a child: "We used to go on Saturday morning at the Loew’s Canal. At 9 in the morning, they’d show things like the Fitzpatrick Traveltalk, cartoons and serials like Flash Gordon. By the time you got to 10:30, they’d get to the double-header, two pictures in a row. What happened was, your mother or father would drop you off at 9, and they didn’t have to pick you up until 3. That’s where we got our education.” The theater closed in the late 1950s, and by the early 1960s the lobby was converted to retail space, while the auditorium was being used as a warehouse. Currently the building sits empty, waiting for someone to restore it to its former glory. Spot the Difference: Go to Google Maps and look up 31 Canal Street. How would you describe the theater today? Bonus: Can you locate a brown rectangular shaped piece of metal on top of the theater? What do you think it's for? (Hint: You would be very grateful for this device in the summertime!)