Before the trip, I always thought the Tenement Museum was a museum like any other; I would walk around a building and learn from studying pictures and memorabilia from that generation. However, I was pleasantly surprised when the experience turned out to be so interactive. The introductory lesson in what a tenement actually is, what it looks like, and what it feels like, was interesting and informative. From reading How the Other Half Lives, I thought I had a good idea of what a tenement was like but actually being in one made this image even clearer.
Role-playing with the actress in the tenement was a fun and enlightening part of the tour (I was the father of the German family). If we had just walked through the tenement and looked at the apartments, we would have gotten to see what it looks like. However, by sitting in the apartment for so long and listening to the child immigrant’s story, I feel like I now have a more comprehensive view of what tenement life was like. Overall, going on this trip was interesting, fun, and enlightening. Although I will probably not return to the museum because there is not much more to see, the neighborhood in which the museum was located in is definitely worth a return to get a better idea of the old NYC architecture.
-Nicholas Macaluso
