Activism on the Lower East Side Building and Walking Tour

Join Museum at Eldridge Street Docent Jason Bohner for a new tour centered around the history of activism on the Lower East Side!

At the turn of the twentieth century, roughly 1.5 million Ashkenazi Jews descended on the Lower East Side in search of economic opportunity and religious tolerance. Like many immigrant communities, their adjustment to life in America was complicated by prejudice, poverty, and acculturation. However, at around the same time, Jews began to challenge the status quo. Activism flourished in all aspects of public life in the Lower East Side, as politicians, journalists, the working class and philanthropists fought for the rights of a growing generation of Americans.

Join Museum at Eldridge Street Docent Jason Bohner for a 90-minute tour that explores landmarks in the movement for social and economic reform on the Lower East Side at the turn of the twentieth century. Learn about the struggle for women’s rights, educational opportunity, and economic equality that left a permanent mark on our city and country. The tour will be half in the Museum, and half walking tour in the neighborhood. Stops include the first municipally constructed playground in the nation, the Forward Building, the former Rutgers Square, and more.

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