The Lives of Immigrants During the Gilded Age of

New York City

By: Darya Klimova, Allison Reich and Stephanie Stern

The growth of the United States between 1880-1920 can be attributed to the migration of people from other countries. Germans, Italians, Irish, European Jews and the Chinese are some of the first groups that migrated in waves to the Americas.

Through teaching immigration, we are able to teach our students:➢ tolerance➢ community➢ hardships ➢ roles of men, women, and children➢ the “American Dream”➢ cultural identity

Our students will be able to:➢ identify bias/point of view➢ analyze waves of immigration and why certain groups came➢ investigate how specific immigrant families lived and worked➢ learn to ask questions ➢ interview

Through this unit, our 5th grade SWBAT:

❖ define immigration❖ learn to appreciate a few of the different cultures that

make up New York City today❖ explain the obstacles that many immigrant families

faced❖ learn the contributions of the immigrants to the Lower

East Side

Focus Questions:

● What is an immigrant?● Why did various groups emigrate?● What obstacles/hardships did they face on

their journey?● What are some of the major immigrant

groups that came to NYC during the 1880’s-1920’s?

● How did the immigrants adapt to life in the new land?

● How did the growth of specific neighborhoods coincide with the waves of immigration?

Seward Park H.S.

Ferrara’s Bakery

Wo HopEldridge Street Synagogue

Katz’s Deli

1. Katz’s Delicatessen

Ever crave a pastrami sandwich? There is no better place in New York City to indulge on the famous yiddish tradition, then on the corner of Ludlow and Houston. The delicatessen was found by 2 brothers from Iceland in 1888. After many years, the brothers took on a partnership with Willy Katz in 1903. Willy’s cousin wanted to get in on the partnership, after he saw the success of bringing a community of immigrants together, so he bought out the Iceland’s share and the delicatessen became known as Katz’s Deli. By 1920, the deli became the meeting area for the LES to socialize. Famous actors, singers and comedians from the Yiddish Theatre would dine in the famous deli which helped the hype of the restaurant. The hype the delicatessen had back in the 1920’s is still around more than a century later.

Katz’s DelicatessenInterview the staff: Learn Yiddish…Directions: ask a member in the delicatessen to help translate each yiddish word, since it was the spoken language in the restaurant during the Gilded Age

1. Babka _______________2. Chavver _____________3. Geshmak ______________4. Git Yontif _______________5. Kosher ________________6. K’velen ________________7. Mazel ________________8. Naches _______________

How did it feel trying to pronounce each word? Does Yiddish have any connection to English? _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. Seward Park High School This school opened its doors in 1905. The school was originally called P.S. 62. At this time, people of more nationalities lived here than anywhere else in the United States. P.S. 62 was located at Essex, Hester, and Norfolk Streets. The students of P.S. 62 excelled immediately. In 1923, Seward Park Junior High became the first experimental junior-senior high school. This experiment did not last long, and the school remained and became Seward Park High School.

Can you piece together the story of the graduating class of 1929?Seward Park High School holds the records of all of their previous almanacs (yearbooks), starting with the year 1929. Locate one of the earliest almanacs you can find and write a historian’s point of view on what life was like in that year. You should use the pictures and written accounts to help in your writing.

3. Ferrara’s Bakery and CafeFerrara is the first American Espresso Bar. In 1892, Antonio Ferrara realized he needed a place to socialize with his friends after the opera. He opened the bakery to help bring the Italian community together. Since it opened, Ferrara’s Bakery is known for its Torrone. It is an Italian candy made up of fibers and almonds. Since there was no dairy in the candy, it was a common item shipped to Italian soldiers during World War II. Ferrara’s Bakery has had many famous visitors throughout the years; Phil Rizzuto (baseball legend) and President Ronald Reagan.

Ferrara’s BakeryAfter trying the famous Torrone, does it taste or remind you of a candy that you eat today? Why or why not?______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Chinese Immigration

Another group that immigrated to Manhattan during this time period is the Chinese. Many Chinese immigrants worked as hand launderers. These immigrants also settled in the Lower East Side. This area became known as “Chinatown”.

4. Wo Hop Chinese Restaurant

Wo Hop has been a popular Chinese restaurant in Chinatown since 1928. It is still known for its original cramped space on 17 Mott Street. It is located down several steps. Do not confuse it with the imposter Wo Hop on 15 Mott Street (located directly above).

Wo Hop Dumplings

Order the famous dumplings from the Wo Hop menus. Using your 5 senses, come up with 3 adjectives that describe the dumplings.1.________________________________2.________________________________3.________________________________

5. Eldridge Street SynagogueAt 12 Eldridge Street, many Jewish immigrants flocked for the high holy services. The Synagogue is also known as “East Side J.P. Morgan” named after one of its founders. September 4, 1887, Jewish Russians and Polish immigrants used the synagogue to create a place of worship and build a community. This is the first synagogue in America that Eastern Jews built from the ground up. The congregation hired Rabbi Aharon Yudelovitch in 1918 to head services. The synagogue closed during the 1920’s due to the decline in memberships due to the great depression. Shortly after, the synagogue turned into a museum to celebrate the Gilded Age and history of the Jewish immigrants during that time.

Eldridge Street SynagoguePick 3 aspects of The Life at Eldridge Street Synagogue and write about what each item represents. (suggestions: spittoon, 50th Anniversary Pamphlet, Free loan society record, Tzedakah box, cemetery map, Burnt mortgage and/or high holiday ticket)

1.__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________2.__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________3.__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Tenement Museum The Tenement Museum, located at 97 Orchard St in the Lower East Side, was built in 1863 and housed roughly 7,000 working class immigrants.

This tenement was originally owned by Lucas Glockner, who was a German immigrant tailor and lived on St. Mark’s Place before moving into his own building.

The building housed 20 families and had 3 room apartments spread amongst 5 floors. The three room apartment was made up of a kitchen, a living room/parlor (largest room) and one tiny bedroom. The whole apartment was about 325 square feet.

There were no toilets, no showers, and no bathtubs!

Lucas Glockner

He built the tenements at 97 Orchard Street in 1863. Lucas Glockner made a living by charging his tenants rent each month. He was an immigrant from Germany. Many other German immigrants settled at the tenements at 97 Orchard Street, as well.

Kleindeutschland “Little Germany”Many Germans immigrated to the Lower East Side before they moved to the Upper East Side. This neighborhood became known as Kleindeutschland or “Little Germany.” Many Germans were bakers, tailors, cigar makers, carpenters, and barbers. The people of Kleindeutschland were far from the upper class. Most of them worked long, 12-hour days in poor working conditions just to make ends meet.

The Hard Times TourBy visiting this museum, our students will be able to experience what it was like to live in the late 1800’s in the Lower East Side. They will learn about the lives of two families, the Italian-Catholic Baldizzi family and the German-Jewish Gumpertz family. They will have to think about the many hardships these families had to face everyday (such as sharing 4 outhouses between 20 families, little to no work, a foreign language, being a single mother, etc.).

The Baldizzi Family

Rosario listened to her radio as she cleaned, cooked, and anytime she missed her Italian roots. She would listen to soap operas and music in Italian, as recalled by her daughter Josephine.

Task One: Poetry Write a poem (in the voice of Rosario or one of her children) to describe the feelings you have about hearing your native language on the radio. Are you happy to hear it broadcasted? Does it make you uneasy because you miss your family and your homeland?

Task Two: What would you bring? The Baldizzi family brought very little things with them to America. The size of their suitcase is the size of what is allowed as a carry-on on a plane. What things did the Baldizzi family have to think about before packing? What necessities did they have to bring?

Your task is to take pictures of items you would bring (that would fit into a carry-on suitcase) to a new land. Remember you aren’t sure of what the climate is in the new land; it’s best to be prepared for anything. Print out your pictures and paste them onto cardstock paper. On the back of your picture, write why you would choose to bring this certain item.

97 Orchard St. only had 4 outhouses, one water fountain, and one bucket to share amongst 20 families.

Indoor toilets were added to this tenement after 1901.

Task Three: Outhouses, a Water Fountain, a Bucket, Oh My!

Your task is to write a journal entry of a child who lived in 97 Orchard St. during the years 1880-1901. In your journal be sure to explain the difficulties of sharing 4 outhouses, one water fountain, and one bucket between 20 families. Be sure to include what season you’re in, as the summertime will be a different experience than the winter. Describe the smell. Do your parents put a ‘curfew’ on the usage of the outhouses after a certain time? What happens if you have to use the bathroom in the middle of the night? Are you scared to go down to the outhouses by yourself?

Resources:● http://www.eldridgestreet.org/collections/ellis-to-eldridge/life-at-the-

synagogue ● http://www.eldridgestreet.org/history/history● http://katzsdelicatessen.com/history/● http://www.ferraracafe.com/about/● http://www.tenement.org/ ● http://www.lespi-nyc.org/history/kleindeutschland-little-germany-in-the-

lower-east-side.html● (pictures) http://www.google.com/● http://www.sewardparkhs.com/History/● http://www.wohopnyc.com