Eldridge Eats Food Tour: A History of the Lower East Side

Visit historic Lower East Side sites and nosh on delicious rugelach, pickles, knishes, and dumplings! Once one of the most densely populated districts in the world, the Lower East Side of Manhattan has witnessed numerous changes during the past hundred years. This walking tour is a resourceful glimpse of the past. The tour will focus on a few of the remaining vestiges and surviving buildings and structures of an era of mass Jewish immigration, when the streets were lined with stores and pushcarts, including Jewish delicatessens, bakeries, pickle stands, and cafeterias, to name a few. See buildings and structures that still exist today as well as those that have been restored, repurposed, demolished, and abandoned. Your seasoned guide will speak about the neighborhood’s transformation and conclude with a discussion of several food establishments that still exist today. Along the way, stop at a couple of these to nibble on both Jewish and Chinese bites!

Highlights:

Explore synagogues of the Lower East Side that have been repurposed into art galleries, churches, and event spaces, as well as bathhouses, restaurants, movie theaters, and more

Sample traditional New York Jewish and Chinese foods

Learn about the history of the Lower East Side, once the most densely populated district in the world

Uncover the history of Jewish immigration in the area and hear what tenement life was like; find out where immigrants shopped, banked, and how they obtained their news

Stop by significant Lower East Side landmarks

Please let them know any and all dietary restrictions during registration by emailing programs@eldridgestreet.org.

Cost of food is included in ticket prices. Please note that the nosh offered will not constitute a full meal.

Image Credit: “Push Cart Market, East Side,” New York, ca. 1915. Library of Congress.