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A step through time to New York City's Lower East Side
by Mel and Ronnie Greenberg
With its upbeat energy, exciting aura and powerful history, New York City reigns as America's cultural, fashion, financial and media center.
The city is at work building and sprucing up for a renaissance; but layers of history and nostalgia from the last turn of the century cling tightly in Manhattan's Lower East Side. This neighborhood was home to millions of immigrants who first passed through Ellis Island and then went on to recreate the personality and character of New York City. The diversity of this area, bounded by Canal Street, Houston Street, the Bowery and the East River, became the challenge, wonder and intrigue of the newly arrived families from Jewish Eastern Europe.
One of the largest Jewish communities in America was formed in the narrow, teeming streets and overcrowded tenements that were extensions of the shtetls of Eastern Europe. The newcomers were determined to fulfill their dreams by striving to make a living and giving their children the best possible education. Holding on to the flavor and rich heritage of the world they left behind, they soon filled the streets with kosher butchers, bakeries, groceries and delis. Delancey Street became a bustling marketplace replete with pushcarts and vendors plying the full range of wares.
To get a sense of how the immigrants lived, an 1863 building at 97 Orchard St. (south...