Refleception: Sleep Deprived Reflections on the Tenement Museum
From the outside, the tenement seemed rather large and imposing. The old style of building surrounded by the modern city was a rather interesting contrast. I’ve heard of tenements before in 8th grade through social studies but have never been inside of one as far as I know. I knew it was supposed to be crowded but never thought it would feel that uncomfortable. The atmosphere was comparable to a rush hour subway car: hot, unstable, and claustrophobic. In the late 1800s, there were several workers as well as several families all working in those 1-2 room “apartment” sections of the tenement while outside there was a bustling, foul smelling city of commerce. Each and every member of the families we examined worked hard every single day to make ends meet as well as to make coming to this country worthwhile. Each and everyday the sweatshop machine would work for the hope of a better life. The museum did a very good job in maintaining the aesthetic as well as finding the documents and items that decorated the exhibit.
The visit to the tenement museum surprisingly reminded me of my own family’s start in America. My grandmother, father, mother, brother, two aunts, uncle, three cousins, and myself were all crowded into my grandmother’s home in College Point after we came from the Philippines. She worked with cloth and made clothes back in the Philippines so she cordoned off part of the house to continue her trade. The layout of where they worked on clothes was somewhat familiar with cloth strewn all over the tables and dresses hanging from any part of the house that jutted out. It was somewhat nostalgic to see a metal sewing machine though the one in the tenement was definitely smaller and required more manual effort in using. She and my aunts would generally take care that business while my parents worked as nurses and the four kids went to school. I’m sure it was much more comfortable compared to having to work the entire day in that sardine can of a building back in that time period. The hard work paid off at least, the proof being that picture we were shown of the remaining members of the families. They seem to have continued on to thrive within this time period.