I didn’t know what to expect when Professor Berger announced we were going to the Tenement Museum the week before last. The only thing I knew about the museum before we stepped foot in the building was that a friend’s ex-girlfriend had fainted upon going a couple years prior. True, I never found out why she fainted, but it seemed I was destined to have an interesting experience.
Browsing through the Visitor’s Center the day of, it was still hard to really get a preview of what was to come; how do hats with animal faces pertain to the cramped and squalid conditions of the early 1900’s? I couldn’t find a connection to my idea of a tenement in practically any of the items for sale in the shop. Regardless, I bought three (unrelated) postcards for a dollar, then followed behind the group and into the actual building.
It was very interesting to sit in a building that once housed hundreds of people, all from different countries, lifestyles, and religious backgrounds. (According to a placard on the street level, that particular block had approximately 2,350 people living in about 2.5 acres of land at the beginning of the 20th century.) As our guide went more in depth about the historical aspects of the building and the time period surrounding its peak, I felt almost squeamish. The thought of sharing a cramped three-room apartment with nine other people is something I would likely never be able to suffer through.
I was very excited to find out we would be role-playing to find out more about the actual experience of living in a early 1900’s tenement. As the mother of a German and Jewish household, I was more or less entrusted with the direction of my many children. We ascended the stairs, siphoned into a hallway no more than two feet in width, and waited as our guide knocked on Victoria Confino’s door.
The actress who played Victoria seemed incredibly skittish at our arrival, only allowing us in after a talk with our guide. My husband and I led our children into the cramped living space of the Confino family, where we talked about many general things, like “wanting to shower after being on a boat for three weeks,” “where to send the children to school,” “where the nearest places of worship were,” etc. It seemed far more effective to actually experience the conditions of a tenement than to just learn about it in a classroom, as I had previously done. I think the talk we had with Victoria was a lot more enlightening than other teaching techniques I’d encountered, and I only wish we could have visited more apartments.
Upon leaving, I thought a lot about the kind of things our generation takes for granted. I don’t mean to sound preachy, but I don’t think any one in this class has had to live in that kind of dwelling for an extended period of time. The “agitator” was considered a marvel to the people of that era, while I complain that I have to pay $1.25 to have my clothes washed automatically. I would like to return to the museum again in the future in hopes of learning more about the lives of the people that lived there, as our group didn’t ask anything about Victoria’s hopes and dreams. It was a great experience, and I would definitely recommend it to my friends.
