Eldridge Eats Food Tour: A History of the Lower East Side
12 Eldridge Street, New York, NY 10002
Sunday, June 22, 1:30pm ET, In-person
Visit historic Lower East Side sites and nosh on delicious rugelach, pickles, knishes, and dumplings!
Once one of 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 mass Jewish immigration, when the streets were lined with stores and pushcarts, including Jewish delicatessens, bakeries, pickle stands, and cafeterias, to name a few.
Join us on Sunday, June 22nd at 1:30pm and see buildings and structures that still exist today as well as those that have been restored, repurposed, demolished, and abandoned. Your seasoned guide will speak about the neighborhood’s transformation and conclude with a discussion of several food establishments that still exist today. Along the way, we’ll stop at a couple of these to nibble on both Jewish and Chinese bites!
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 New York Jewish and Chinese foods
- 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 their news
- Stop by significant Lower East Side landmarks
Please let us know any and all dietary restrictions during registration by emailing programs@eldridgestreet.org.
Cost of food is included in ticket prices. Please note that the nosh offered will not constitute a full meal.
Ticket Price (Includes Museum Admission):
Adults $35
Seniors / Students $32
Children 17 and Under $30
Cool Culture Pass / SNAP Benefits $10
This Museum at Eldridge Street Walking Tour is only available to small groups (18 people max). This tour is available to both individual ticket holders and families.
About the Museum at Eldridge Street:
The Museum at Eldridge Street is housed in the Eldridge Street Synagogue, a magnificent National Historic Landmark that has been meticulously restored. Opened in 1887, the synagogue is the first great house of worship built in America by Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe. Today, it is the only remaining marker of the great wave of Jewish migration to the Lower East Side that is open to a broad public who wishes to visit Jewish New York. Exhibits, tours, public programs, and education initiatives tell the story of Jewish immigrant life, explore architecture and historic preservation, inspire reflection on cultural continuity, and foster collaboration and exchange between people of all faiths, heritages, and interests.
Image Credit: "Push Cart Market, East Side," New York, ca. 1915. Library of Congress.