Museum at Eldridge Street
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The Museum at Eldridge Street is housed in the 1887 Eldridge Street Synagogue, a magnificent National Historic Landmark that has been meticulously restored. Exhibits, tours, cultural events and educational programs tell the story of Jewish immigrant life at the turn of the last century, explore architecture and historic preservation, inspire reflection on cultural continuity, and foster collaboration and exchange between people of all faiths, heritages and interests.
05/31/2020
Turnstile Tours
We're live with Turnstile Tours! Join us to talk mutual aid & community resilience on the Lower East Side.
Join us for our conversation with Museum at Eldridge Street, Lower East Side Partnership, and the Reher Center for Immigrant Culture and History on the past and present of mutual aid and dealing with crisis on the Lower East Side.
05/28/2020
We're back with another installment of Look Closely for all you amateur historians out there!
Take a look at this picture and make some guesses about what might be going on. From historic photos like this, we can find out a lot about what life was like 100 years ago. What are these boys looking at? Why are they spending their time on the sidewalk?
Make your best guesses in the comments, then head to www.eldridgestreet.org/look-closely to read all about the real story.
05/27/2020
1924: a stroke of Coolidge's pen changes the face of America - Museum at Eldridge Street
Yesteryday, May 26th, marked the 96th anniversary of a policy that forever changed our country's position on the types of people that America welcomed to her shores. It drastically, and swiftly, changed the fates and fortunes of the Lower East Side (as well as the Eldridge Street Synagogue!). And it's all about immigration - an argument the United States hasn't exactly settled in the ensuing 96 years.
On May 26, 1924 the United States enacted a strict immigration policy that forever altered the demographics, and the identity, of the country. To mark the anniversary, we are reposting this blog originally posted in 2019. Though immigration is a currently contested topic in the United States and aro...
05/22/2020
Parents & teachers of 4th - 8th graders: join us and our friends at Henry Street Settlement for a free virtual visit next Wednesday at 2PM!
There's a lot of talk right now about social safety nets, mutual aid, and how community support can help us ride out tough times. For millions of immigrants arriving to the Lower East Side at the turn of the 20th century, they found themselves seeking those same things. Explore what their resources were 100 years ago while taking a look at Eldridge Street's breathtaking main sanctuary. Then we'll hop over to Henry Street to explore the support the Settlement provided to the community during the Progressive Era.
RSVP at henrystreet.org/virtualvisit!
05/21/2020
Hey, Amateur Historians!
One of the most important ways we can try to better understand a historical period is to examine primary documents and sources - first-hand records - from that time. Newspaper articles, government reports and letters are all important primary sources, but photographs are among the most fun to examine. They provide visual evidence of a time period or event that can expand your historical understanding - and help you really picture what life was like back then.
We're sharing a photo with you of real people or a real scene from New York in the early 1900s. Your job? Put on your historian glasses and examine it. What do you see? What do you think it shows you about the people in the picture, the place where they are, and the time period? Why are there so many crackers on that table?!
Once you've made a few guesses in the comments, head to www.eldridgestreet.org/look-closely to learn all about what's really happening here.
05/20/2020
Our curator and archivist Nancy Johnson misses spending time in our building, among the evocative items in our historic collections. So she's sharing the stories with you virtually! On today's blog, the curious story of an ark curtain that predates our 1887 synagogue.
https://www.eldridgestreet.org/blog/things-we-miss-stories-in-gold-silk/
05/14/2020
What's all this monkey business?! It's Thursday, which means it's time for another installment of Look Closely, where we ask you amateur historians out there to examine a historic photo and decide what it's telling us about life at the turn of the last century.
So, what are these busybodies up to? Where are they? Why was the photo taken? Share some of your guesses with us in the comments, then head to www.eldridgestreet.org/look-closely to get the full scoop.
05/13/2020
Fruitful fire escapes & bountiful backyards: city victory gardens make a comeback - Museum at Eldridge Street
Even New Yorkers, notoriously lacking for green space, got into the victory garden trend during the world wars. Fire escapes, public parks, rooftops - city dwellers are nothing if not resourceful. And these days, the trend is back! Read today's blog post to get into the urban gardening spirit yourself.
This post was written by Museum intern Lila Norris. It seems like everyone knows someone who is using their isolation to become a master bread baker or a vegetable gardener. It’s been harder to procure many of the foods we’re used to picking up easily at the grocery store and canned beans and fr...
05/12/2020
Did you know that the stunning paint you see in today's sanctuary isn't actually original to 1887? The historic congregation actually painting the sanctuary walls *four* different times between 1887 and the 1940s. The paint scheme on the walls when the synagogue opened was just a couple beige and cream colors - no ornamentation at all! No stars, no scrolls, no faux marble. But within a decade the congregation was doing well enough to finance a complete overhaul of the walls - and that's when all the decorative paint came to the scene. But that's still not the paint scheme we enjoy today! A decade after that new paint job, the congregation paid for another round of improvements to their building and they redid the paint again - this time, they kept the general designs of the decorative paint but changed the colors and the sizes just slightly. THIS paint campaign that you'll see today when you walk into our sanctuary. (The third photo here shows the evidence of those first designs underneath the newer ones. You can see that outlines are in slightly different places.) The congregation had installed electric lighting along with the new paint job, and since that's the way we show the space today, it made sense to display that paint scheme, too. This era of the ornamentation also represents the real heyday of the congregation's prosperity and that was something we wanted to honor. And the cool thing? The other two paint campaigns are still underneath!
That's not even the full saga of paint in the Eldridge Street sanctuary. You'll have to come visit (in the future!) to get the full scoop.
#archtober #didyouknow
05/11/2020
“Dre Draydle” performed by Frank London, Lorin Sklamberg, and Constantinople
Enjoy another Musical Monday, courtesy of the Museum at Eldridge Street vault! These world-class musicians have dedicated their lives to honoring ancient music, taking inspiration from the four corners of the globe while creating new & exciting musical communities.
Frank London and Lorin Sklamberg of the Klezmatics joined forces with the Montreal-based ensemble Constantinople, led by Kiya Tabassian, to perform this song in 2017 under the shimmering lights of the historic Museum at Eldridge Street. 🎶🎵
Enjoy Frank London and Lorin Sklamberg of the Klezmatics alongside the Montreal based ensemble Constantinople, led by Kiya Tabassian, performing “Dre Draydle...
05/07/2020
Hey, Amateur Historians!
We're back with another The Library of Congress photograph of a real scene from New York in the early 1900s! Your job? Put on your historian glasses and examine it. What do you see? What does this photo show us about the people in the picture - the kids and the adults? What are those kids doing?! Where ARE they?
Have you made some guesses about what might be happening in this picture? Deliberate with your fellow historians in the comments! And then head to www.eldridgestreet.org/look-closely to get the full scoop.
05/06/2020
An All-of-a-Kind-Family Survival Guide to Quarantine - Museum at Eldridge Street
"What is more enticing than eating candy? Eating candy...in bed! In the middle of the night!!! In secret!!!!"
There's a lot of wisdom in today's blog post about using lessons from All-of-a-Kind-Family to survive your quarantine, happily & healthily. Any survival guide that includes an order from Economy Candy is one we can get behind.
This post was written by Rachel Serkin. Millions of families, including my own, are heading into an eighth week of staying at home. And there’s no official end date in sight. I find myself grasping at ways to keep my toddler-aged child engaged and entertained while preserving some shred of sanity ...
05/02/2020
We're so glad that there's a way to celebrate The Municipal Art Society of New York's Jane's Walk without leaving the house this year! Thanks to Urban Archive you can go on tons of great walking tours from the safety of your home. We created two new tours for Jane's Walk From Home this year!
Women's Life on the LES - https://janeswalknyc.mas.org/stories/irtxU28qFbU
Sacred Spaces of the LES - https://janeswalknyc.mas.org/stories/vfB4NgnZUJg
Check them out, peruse the site & find other walks to satisfy your NYC wanderlust! #janeswalknyc
05/01/2020
Stop spitting - everybody!
Check out this ghoulish miasma wafting from the sidewalk! Pretty yucky stuff. In 1918, the flu epidemic ushered in a wave of public health campaigns to help stop the spread of germs in public places. Virtually overnight, longstanding customs and ways of life were changed forever. (Sound familiar?) And that included within the walls of the Eldridge Street Synagogue. What does spitting have to do with our beautiful space? Find out in this week's blog post: https://www.eldridgestreet.org/blog/no-spitting/.
04/30/2020
Baby beauty pageant? Police lineup for a mini criminal?
Put on your historian glasses and take a nice close look at this historic photo. What's happening here?! Share your ideas in the comments, and then head to our website to get the full scoop on the picture and the story behind it, at www.eldridgestreet.org/look-closely. [Photo from The Library of Congress archives]
04/29/2020
04/29/2020
When the Eldridge Street Synagogue opened in 1887, New York City was very different from how we know it today. How and why do communities change over time? Find out by joining educator Rachel Serkin for a reading of Virginia Lee Burton's timeless and award winning book, The Little House. This beautifully illustrated book shows how changes come and go but some things remain. Afterwards we will create our own community of little houses (or apartment buildings).
Recommended for Grades K-4
Materials you will need:
Brown paper lunch bag (any small paper bag will do)
Construction Paper
Markers or Paint
Glue or Paste
Scissors
Crumpled up newspaper or other paper
*If you don't have paper bags you can use cardboard, shoe boxes or construction paper
04/28/2020
Debra Olin studio tour
Artist and printmaker Debra Olin leads this live tour of her Massachusetts studio. In conversation with Museum at Eldridge Street exhibition curator Nancy Johnson, Debra goes behind the scenes of her creative process to reveal the tools she uses to create her mixed media large-scale collages.
An exhibition of Debra's work will debut at the Museum at Eldridge Street later this year. Learn more about the exhibition by visiting www.eldridgestreet.org/everyprotection. Learn more about Debra's work at www.debraolin.com.
04/27/2020
Artist and printmaker Debra Olin is letting us into her studio LIVE today at 11am! Learn about her process making large-scale collages with a variety of techniques & materials, and find out what we have to look forward to when Debra's exhibition opens up later this year at the Museum at Eldridge Street.
Joining us live today means you get to hear from Debra and ask her questions, too. For free! Just sign up here to receive the link to the virtual event: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/103513254932.
04/24/2020
When the Eldridge Street Synagogue opened in 1887, New York City was very different from how we know it today. How and why do communities change over time? Find out by joining us for a reading of Virginia Lee Burton's timeless and award winning book, The Little House. This beautifully illustrated book shows how changes come and go but some things remain. Afterwards we will create our own community of little houses (or apartment buildings).
Recommended for Grades K-4.
Materials you will need:
Brown paper lunch bag (any small paper bag will do)
Construction Paper
Markers or Paint
Glue or Paste
Scissors
Newspaper or other paper that can be crumpled
*If you don't have paper bags you can use cardboard, shoe boxes or construction paper
04/23/2020
We're back with another Look Closely! Where young and amateur historians look for clues in historic photos to learn something about life a long time ago.
Put on your historian glasses and Look Closely at this historic photo. What's happening here? What are these kids waiting for? And no, it's not to get into the grocery store...
Share your ideas in the comments below! And then satisfy your curiosity by finding out more information about the picture and the story behind it at eldridgestreet.org/look-closely.
04/22/2020
Pairing old wisdom and new tricks to make a super-sustainable landmark - Museum at Eldridge Street
Happy Earth Day! Sustainability conversations often center around innovative new technology and glitzy modern buildings, but historic landmarks can be eco-friendly too!
Our landmark is a fascinating combination of old-world techniques and contemporary tricks. Like brand new floor tiles made of humdrum old glass bottles. Who knew? Check out the blog post below to see what we mean!
When we think of green or sustainable buildings, we tend to think of innovative architecture and cutting edge technology. What if we told you that sometimes the greenest buildings are the oldest? This year for Earth Day, we’re sharing the many ways in which our historic building is eco-friendly an...
04/21/2020
Virtual Talk with Museum at Eldridge Street on Pressed: Images from the Jewish Daily Forward - Untapped New York
Today at 2PM: Museum curator Nancy Johnson and The Forward archivist Chana Pollack will be trading inside info and inspiration with you on a virtual tour of our exhibition Pressed: Images from the Jewish Daily Forward! Join us with our friends Untapped New York as Nancy & Chana share images from the exhibition and talk about a few of their favorite pieces.
The tour is free for Untapped Insiders - and you can get two months of being an Insider for free by using code STAYHERE on their website. Join us at 2!
Join Museum at Eldridge Street archivist and curator Nancy Johnson and Jewish Daily Forward archivist Chana Pollack in this virtual tour through the archive press plates and images that inspired them to create the Museum's current exhibition Pressed: Images from the Jewish Daily Forward. The Jewish....
04/20/2020
Cocktail Concert with Cantor Hayley Kobilinsky!
Cocktail Concert with Cantor Hayley Kobilinsky!
04/20/2020
Did you get this morning's Young Historians @ Home newsletter? It's a discover-and-do pairing that families can use anytime they need a little learning and fun in their lives.
April is The Academy of American Poets National Poetry Month! So today, Young Historians will explore the story of Emma Lazarus and her poem The New Colossus, which is on the Statue of Liberty. Then they'll answer questions like "In what ways do you feel connected to people who are struggling?" and how might you translate those feelings into different kinds of poems?
See today's newsletter and subscribe in the upper left corner! https://mailchi.mp/eldridgestreet/younghistorians3-257023
04/19/2020
One silver lining to having to cancel in-person programs? You can now join our virtual programs from anywhere in the world! We have two new classes coming up this week and they're just $5 a session. Get your tickets:
Monday April 20 at 11AM - Activism That Changed the World: The 19th Amendment https://www.eldridgestreet.org/event/activism-that-changed-the-world-the-19th-amendment/
Wednesdays April 22 - May 27 at 11AM - Ambition, Activism & Adaptation: Jewish Women of the LES
https://www.eldridgestreet.org/event/ambition-activism-and-adaptation-jewish-women-of-the-lower-east-side-11/
04/17/2020
What do you want from us?! No, really - we want to know what you're finding most helpful in this unprecedented situation. If you complete the survey below, we can provide exactly the content and connection you're looking for right now. But we can't know if you don't share! So take just a few moments to give us a piece of your mind: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/CGWRKRQ.
Thank you!
04/16/2020
Museum School Programs - Museum at Eldridge Street
Before the holiday passes us by, don't miss out on our Passover storytimes and crafts for families! On our Learning From Home page now.
K-12 Museum School Programs - bring your students to our historic landmark and learn about immigration, architecture, or Jewish culture.
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12 Eldridge St
New York, NY
10002
Opening Hours
| Thursday | 10:00 - 17:00 |
| Friday | 10:00 - 15:00 |
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Videos
Cocktail Concert with Eyal Vilner
Cocktail Concert with Eyal Vilner
Frank London Cocktail Concert!
Frank London Cocktail Concert!
Mother's Day Heirloom Show and Tell
Mother's Day Heirloom Show and Tell
Cocktail Concert with Gary Lucas!
Cocktail Concert with Gary Lucas!
Debra Olin studio tour
Artist and printmaker Debra Olin leads this live tour of her Massachusetts studio. In conversation with Museum at Eldridge Street exhibition curator Nancy Johnson, Debra goes behind the scenes of her creative process to reveal the tools she uses to create her mixed media large-scale collages. An exhibition of Debra's work will debut at the Museum at Eldridge Street later this year. Learn more about the exhibition by visiting www.eldridgestreet.org/everyprotection. Learn more about Debra's work at www.debraolin.com.
Cocktail Concert with Cantor Hayley Kobilinsky!
Cocktail Concert with Cantor Hayley Kobilinsky!
On Mondays, we listen to live music! Take a few moments to relax with this clip of Yale Strom & Hot Pstromi singing the Russian folk song Tumbalalaika at a concert in 2017. This song has been adapted and used in pop culture many times, including in the stage play and film version of Tony Kushner's Angels in America. If you want to hear what Yale Strom & singer Elizabeth Schwartz are up these days, check out our Cocktail Concert from last Monday, when they sang us a couple of songs all the way from California!
Cocktail Concerts with Yale Strom and Elizabeth Schwartz
Join Yale Strom and Elizabeth Schwartz for a Cocktail Concert! Learn more about Yale: yalestrom.com Learn more about Elizabeth: voiceofklezmer.com
The Andy Statman Trio!
Metropolitan Klezmer at Museum at Eldridge Street
Take a peek inside a recent evening concert in our historic sanctuary. Thanks Metropolitan Klezmer for this fun and moving show!
Women in Power and Powerful Women in the Bible
Klez for Kids!
Metropolitan Klezmer; Jubilation! 25th Anniversary
Designing Tenements and Temples: The Herter Brothers
Pressed: Images from the Jewish Daily Forward
Introducing Pressed: Images from the Jewish Daily Forward, an exhibition of archival press plates and images from the legendary The Forward newspaper. The show opens October 23rd (with a free evening reception) and will display metal plates that were used to print images in the paper - as well as modern prints made using those old plates at South Street Seaport's Bowne & Co.! This video goes inside that fascinating process. Take a look, then head to our site to find out more about the show and watch the full video. www.eldridgestreet.org/pressed
Jewish Lives in China
Jewish Lives in China Panel presented in partnership with China Institute
Yale Strom and Hot Pstromi at The Museum at Eldridge Street
This magic returns to our sanctuary on Sunday at 3PM! Get your tickets at hotpstromieldridge.eventbrite.com.
Papercutting class January 27!
This Sunday we're teaching how to papercut just like this - plus how to cut out spiders, bears, and other creatures like Jewish artists (and Chinese!) have been doing for centuries. Bring the whole family >> www.eldridgestreet.org/event/artsee-papercutting/.
Deborah Ugoretz demonstrates cut paper art
Your whole family can be paper cut experts, just like artist Deborah Ugoretz in this video. On January 27th, we'll walk kids through Releasing Words, our latest exhibition on cut paper art, to get inspiration from the lions, fish, birds, and other fun figures in the work. Then we'll let their creativity loose on their own cut paper creations! Get your tickets today! https://www.eldridgestreet.org/event/artsee-papercutting/
Help us launch our next exhibition
Livestreamed concerts aren't the only exciting thing on the horizon at Eldridge Street. We're planning a new exhibition on a Jewish community in China. But first, we need your help to hire a research assistant and prepare the artwork. Exhibition curator Nancy Johnson gives you all the details below! eldridgestreet.org.
Help Us Livestream Concerts this Giving Tuesday
We know you'll be reading about TONS of worthy nonprofits on this #GivingTuesday. This morning, take a minute to be transported into our beautiful historic sanctuary. Our Manager of Programs will tell you exactly what progress your donations will set in motion in 2019.
Seventh Night of Hanukkah
For tonight's lighting, we chose this one from our Let There Be Light menorah exhibition. It depicts historic shuls from around the world. Our own Eldridge Street Synagogue is included, third from the right! We just love the way this one looks, shining so bright! Happy seventh night to all.
The 13-Petaled Rose
We had such a lovely, lively time at yesterday's concert, as members of the Klezmatics joined forces with Constantinople, a Montreal-based ensemble playing early and middle eastern music. It was a beautiful union! See for yourself in the video below, taken by our friend and supporter Amy Sperling.
Last Sunday we welcomed Yale Strom and his band, Hot Pstromi, back to the Museum for an energetic klezmer concert. There's really nothing like the experience of hearing live music in this beautiful sanctuary. Listen in with this video and enjoy some gorgeous views too!
Thanks to our docent Maxine, we discovered how high tech Purim has become! Instead of a grogger, you can now make some noise with the grogger app. Watch as Maxine demonstrates the app:
Meet Oscar Perez, our building manager! Having Oscar here at the Museum always brightens our day. Make sure to say hi when you visit!
Meet Sharon, our Visitor Services Associate! Sharon has been with us at Eldridge Street since 1989, when she came to a Clean and Shine event as part of the restoration process. Come visit us at The Museum at Eldridge Street and meet Sharon in person! #museumateldridgestreet
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