The majority of National Trust Park properties commemorate the lives of famous politicians and other well-known Americans, but the Lower East Side Tenement Museum commemorates the everyday (and in some cases extraordinary) lives of some of the 7,000 immigrants who lived at 97 Orchard Street from 1863 to 1935. At the site, visitors can take virtual tours of immigrant family apartments, including those of an Italian Catholic family. The tours allow visitors to move through their apartments, along with the ability to listen to an audio presentation that offers additional details about the day-to-day experiences of immigrants in the Lower East Side. Particularly helpful is a 97-page online Tenement Encyclopedia, which defines and discusses terms common to the immigrant experience. Finally, reflecting the fact that the museum is in an urban milieu, information about businesses and local culture in the Lower East Side is also provided for persons journeying to New York to visit.
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