After a short subway under the East River, we were off on our third and final day of walking tours with Ed O’Donnell, this time of Manhattan’s Lower Eat Side. The topic today was immigration, specifically the immigrant neighborhoods that were and are today smeared across this historic area of the city. I was surprised to hear that 98% of those who arrived at Ellis Island made it through the screening process, and Dr. O’Donnell’s comment about how they would spend only a few hours there before spending possibly the rest of their lives in these neighborhoods really brought home (pun intended) the importance of the Lower East side. Although the goal of most working class immigrants was to eventually work their way out of these places, they nonetheless found them a welcoming and (relatively) safe environment when they were fresh off the boat. Maybe “established” is a better word to use than “safe,” as we all know of the astronomical crime rates in those days, but being surrounded by others who speak your language, share your culture, and probably arrived not long before you did, was at least one way to get your footing in a new and frightening place.
As we strolled through streets that have transformed over the years from Irish and German, to Italian and Jewish, and ultimately to Asian and Latin American, I was amazed at not only the shift in ethnicity, but in the overlapping of cultures as well. It is remarkable today to see signs printed in English, Spanish, and (I assume) Chinese, sitting right next to a kosher deli and Italian Bakery. Although many residents choose to stay close to family and others of a similar background, the strict walls of separation between these neighborhoods have been replaced by a gentle easement that never truly ends. The Five Points neighborhood was a great example of this, with languages and pedestrians of all types now visible in an area that used to be off limits for a person of the wrong ethnic group. Foley Square is now a lovely park with children of various races playing while parents mingle peacefully. The notorious Mulberry Street of Jacob Riis fame bends quietly around a neighborhood that was once a slum filled with criminals, prostitutes, and shantytowns.
Although sensationalized, even in Riis’s day, the violence that was once prominent in this part of town is all but gone, and any visitor to New York who does not see this historic neighborhood is missing out not only on the history of the city, but on some of the best parts it has to offer to this day. I cannot wait to use this example of urban development in my geography class, and to get my students thinking about how neighborhoods in Pueblo have changed as well, especially in the area around Bessemer. The streets named after Czechoslovakian words in an area that is overwhelmingly Hispanic still confuse my students, and this should help illustrate the dynamic nature of cities for them.
Lunch at Katz’s Deli was a great way to wrap up a tour that ended in a predominantly Jewish neighborhood, and the food was as good of a lesson as the visit. You’d be hard pressed to find a better pastrami or corned beef sandwich anywhere in the world, and as I could not decide between the two, the Reuben Combo proved to be a carnivore’s dream. (Sometimes Jonathan, I feel deeply, deeply sad for you, and the epicurean path you’ve chosen in this life.) 
After lunch, we stopped off at the Tenement Museum, where we were shuttled into the tiny little rooms we have all read so much about. Riis’s pictures really fail to capture the diminutive size of these dwellings, not to mention the ragged conditions of the rooms and buildings themselves. At 325 square feet, it is hard to imagine a single person residing here, let alone the eight to thirteen that they averaged. With five stories stacked atop one another, and four apartments in each, it makes understanding just “how the other half lived” almost unimaginable. Combine the living quarters with a family’s place of business, and suddenly today’s middle schoolers might appreciate the homes and situations they have just a bit more. Thanks Jonathan for posting the links to the tenement pictures and lesson plans; I’ll get some great material from those this year.
Reubens are quite dandy, but I’m done with it anyways.