Immigrant history comes alive at the Tenement Museum

Photo credit Gemma Solomons

It all began when Abram and Jacobson came upon 97 Orchard Street, a rundown tenement building that had been closed for over fifty years. Though the building was dilapidated, the women discovered personal belongings and other evidence of the families that called these apartments home between the 1860s and 1930s. Over 7,000 residents lived here during this period. The items and the families who owned them became the basis for the museum and its belief that we as a society are “best understood and appreciated through the stories of real families whose lives have shaped our shared history.”

Today, visitors can hear these stories through guided tours of two historic buildings at 97 and 103 Orchard Street and the surrounding Lower East Side neighborhood. Such tours are essentially a time capsule that sheds light on aspects of identity, urban development, public policy, architecture and other themes. They’re also a reminder of the challenges and hurdles faced by new migrants and refugees to America, not only then, but now. And finally, they are strong threads that connect us to one another, with the realization that as human beings, we share many commonalities.

Photo credit Ryan Lahiff

I chose the latter tour because I was most interested in the time period. Prior to entering the Baldizzi’s apartment, our guide gave the group a brief history of the building, which had eighteen units, and was built in 1863 by a German immigrant. There was a need in the area for housing for working class and middle-class families. The neighborhood was called “Little German Land,” due to the number of German immigrants who settled there. By 1910, the neighborhood was transformed by Jewish immigrants and then later, by Italians.

The building was occupied until 1935 when the landlord closed it. A city code regarding fire safety necessitated the replacement of staircases from wood to metal. Rather than making the legally mandated improvements, the landlord refused and shut it down, evicting everyone living there at the time.

Photo credit Ryan Lahiff

As for the Baldizzis, both Adolpho and Rosario hailed from Palermo, Sicily. It was an arranged marriage for the couple. She was sixteen, he was twenty-six. Adolpho came to the U.S. in 1923, following in the footsteps of his brother, who told him he could make more money as a carpenter in America than in Palermo. Due to new immigration laws, Rosario wasn’t able to join Adolpho until two years later and used “doctored papers” to enter.

Photo credit Ryan Lahiff

The family experienced serious economic hardships due to the Great Depression. The unemployment rate in New York City was a steep sixty percent. Adolpho, who had resorted to being a handyman, was often jobless and depressed. Rosario worked in a garment factory and took over head of household duties. She was at constant risk of being let go from her job, though, because she was essentially an “illegal.”