Events List Navigation
July 2019
Lower East Side Ladies
Learn about the fiery women of Lower East Side history with a walk around the neighborhood. The tour begins right at the Museum, diving into the history of women at the historic site – from the early-20th century Ladies Auxiliary to the women-designed stained glass window that now anchors the historic sanctuary. Then we’ll hit the streets to follow in the footsteps of pious women and prostitutes, activists and artists, freethinking feminists and tough-talking balabustas. Hear about anarchist Emma Goldman, Visiting…
August 2019
Lower East Side Walk & Find
On this neighborhood walking tour and scavenger hunt for families, step back and time and visit the Lower East Side spots that kids in the early 1900s knew and loved. From the country’s very first municipal playground to the beloved pickle shop, each place on this tour will bring a distant world into focus. Recommended for children five and up and their adult companions. $14 for adults $8 for students and seniors Space is limited; reservations are required.
Dig Your Roots
Join us – off site – at the Center for Jewish History’s Ackman & Ziff Family Genealogy Institute. The CJH team is opening the doors to its research library after-hours, just for us! It’s a rare opportunity to have some of the world’s most experienced family history researchers and genealogists introduce you to the best ways to trace your roots. Add the Center for Jewish History’s world-renowned partner collections, containing a wealth of historical records and newspapers from Jewish communities…
Love and Courtship
How did people meet and mingle 100 years ago? Did they confess their love in letters? Go to a matchmaker? Meet at work on a factory floor? As immigrants wrestled with new American ways and their old traditions, the Lower East Side was home to family-arranged marriages as well as young people mixing freely at dance halls and making their own matches. We’ll visit sites where love once blossomed, including the former site of a popular dance hall, Seward Park…
Summer Loving Soirée
Featuring special guest Sylvia Weinstock! Sylvia is a baker and beloved cake decorator who started her now-famous cake business after turning 50. She’s baked cakes for celebrities including Oprah, Kim Kardashian, and Martha Stewart. She was a special guest and “secret weapon” on the Netflix show Nailed It!. Throughout the event, Sylvia will share lessons on love and life that she’s learned over the course of her long and exciting career. Bring your first dates, your blind dates, your longtime…
September 2019
SOLD OUT – Jewish Lives in China
Jewish immigration to New York is a well-researched phenomenon, but tens of thousands of Jewish immigrants also traveled east from their homes looking for new freedom and opportunity. In this talk, panelists will explore the oft-forgotten history of Jewish communities in Harbin and Shanghai—refugees and fortune seekers from Odessa and Bukhara to Baghdad—that have now all but disappeared. Before the event, join artist Steven Lane, whose work is featured in Harbin, China | Past/Present, for a gallery walk to discuss his…
CANCELED – EastRiver Ensemble Concert
This event has been canceled. We apologize for any inconvenience. They’re back! Join neighborhood and festival favorite EastRiver Ensemble as they take us on a journey from China to the Lower East Side and back. EastRiver is an elastic performance group, rooted in China but definitively New York. In this energetic performance, EastRiver will interplay a mix of old and new genres,Chinese and world music. The group’s virtuosic flair and flamboyant kungfu will stay with you long after the final…
Kids Eat History: The Story of School Lunch
Calling all foodie families! Don’t miss this super-fun and delicious chance to learn history by eating. At this interactive program, we’ll be exploring the origin of the school lunch program in New York City schools and how it transformed the lives of turn-of-the-20th century Lower East Side kids – at the very place where it all began, the Henry Street Settlement. Today, the idea of feeding kids lunch at school sounds elementary, but in the early 1900s, it was pretty…
October 2019
Rediscovery and Restoration Tour
This tour of the Museum at Eldridge Street focuses on the architectural history of its landmark synagogue building. Built in 1887, it was nearly lost to neglect in the mid-1900s. A 20 year, $20 million restoration united meticulous research, period craftsmanship and contemporary solutions. This tour is presented in partnership with Archtober.
Shuls of Grandeur on the Lower East Side
On this fall walking tour presented in partnership with the Lower East Side Jewish Conservancy, you will visit two grand synagogues on the Lower East Side – rare remnants from a time when the neighborhood would have been filled with bustling houses of worship. Although both sites were places of prayer for new Jewish immigrants to the United States, their origins, histories, and architecture are entirely unique. The tour begins at the Bialystoker Synagogue, the largest active orthodox congregation on the Lower…
