Although the Lower East Side runs east from Bowery all the way to the Williamsburg Bridge, it starts for some at the Eldridge Street Synagogue, fitting for the neighborhood’s rich Jewish immigrant history. Imposing and beautiful, Eldridge’s Star of David engravings contrast sharply with Chinese bakeries across the street. It’s what the Lower East Side, nicknamed the “gateway to America”, embodies: a mélange of cultures just a few sidewalk steps apart. This is what the tour provided by the Lower East Side Business Improvement District emphasizes. Different cultures, time periods, and creeds are all explored with equal depth and clarity on this fascinating walking tour.
From Eldridge, the tour takes a right on Canal and crosses Allen, an eight-lane street that used to have an extra row of tenements - cheaply made housing for immigrants - through the middle. It turns left on Orchard Street and goes north. A street wealthy with the new and old, Orchard houses almost everything the LES has to offer, starting with surviving tenement buildings.
During the late 19th century, this area used to be the world’s most populated: there were 240,000 people per square mile. Now, Orchard is quiet in many parts, peaceful. The street is closed on weekends for pedestrian traffic, and storeowners lug their wares outdoors. This is the Bargain District, where garment sweatshops used to rule; now fancy boutiques stand next to mom-and-pop shops.
Further up, the tour suggests a spicy pickle at Guss’ on the corner of Orchard and Broome. And the few Jewish delis that remain require a visit, with the menu at Katz’s still partially in Yiddish. When the tour gets to Houston, the LES has officially ended, but one can still find fresh knishes at Yonah Schimmel’s a few blocks west.
The Eldridge Street Synagogue
No comments:
Post a Comment