Secrets of the Lower East Side Tour and Tasting

Once the most densely populated districts in the world, the lower east side of Manhattan has witnessed numerous changes during the past hundred years. This walking tour is a resourceful glimpse of the past. The tour will focus on a few of the remaining vestiges and surviving buildings and structures of an era of Jewish immigration. The streets were lined with numerous stores and pushcarts including Jewish delicatessens, bakeries, pickle stands, cafeterias to name a few.
 

You will be shown buildings and structures that still exist today as well as those that have been restored, re-purposed, demolished, and abandoned. I will speak about what transformed the neighborhood and conclude with a discussion of several food establishments that still exist today and a brief look at the Lower East Side today.

Along the way, we’ll stop at a couple of these to nibble on traditional Jewish food.
 

Tour Highlights

• Explore synagogues of the Lower East Side that have been repurposed into art galleries, churches, and event spaces as well as bathhouses, restaurants, movie theaters, and more

• Sample traditional Jewish Food from three places

• Learn about the history of the Lower East Side, once the most densely populated district in the world

• Uncover the history of Jewish Immigration in the area and hear what tenement life was like, find out where immigrants shopped, banked, and how they obtained news of the times

• Stop by significant Lower East Side landmarks