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Video: Take A Two Minute Tour Of The Lower East Side's Tenement Museum
By
Lauren Evans
Published Nov 30, 2015
Modified Nov 30, 2015
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By
Lauren Evans
Published Nov 30, 2015
Modified Nov 30, 2015
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The Tenement Museum is a photographer's paradise—layers over layers of delicately patterned wallpaper, elaborately pressed tinned ceilings and time-ravaged friezes. The problem, though, is that photos are generally not allowed on the Orchard Street museum's premises. Blast!
But exceptions are occasionally made, and this Friday is one of them! An event called "Snapshot" will allow shutterbugs to spend a few hours shooting to their heart's content, with plenty of time to find just the right angle to capture the indoor "tuberculosis windows" and the perfect filter to compliment the row of authentically recreated wooden outhouses.
The Tenement Museum opened in 1988, though museum staff is constantly learning new details about the building's long list of former tenants. It also recently acquired the space at 103 Orchard Street, and will be expanding its offerings to include a program exploring the contemporary Lower East Side post-World War II up to around 2001. Jon Pace, the museum's communication's manager, told Gothamist that tours will discuss the lives of three types of LES denizens: Holocaust survivors, Puerto Rican migrants, and Chinese immigrants. Renovations will begin in 2016, and Pace anticipates that the new tour will open by summer of 2017.
"The museum has always wanted to address the fact that there's been a lot of change in this neighborhood since World War II, and that's a story that needs to be told," he said.
The event will be held at two times—6:30 and 8 p.m.—and visitors can snap away until 10 p.m. Tickets are $30, but will also include grub from Russ & Daughters, probably to prevent patrons from trying to nibble the decorative pretzels arranged on the table at Schneider's Saloon.
Tickets are expected to sell out, so buy yours here. Also be sure to check out photographer Tod Seelie's nifty photos from last year's Snapshot event here... along with photos of the many creepy artifacts found behind the walls.
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