Once teeming with poor Jewish immigrants, garment workers, Yiddish theaters, labor and socialist groups and an array of Eastern European Jewish foods, the Lower East Side of Manhattan is today a very different place. Jews left as they could escape the crowded tenements for outer boroughs and the suburbs. Chinese and Latinos are the newcomers, while gentrification has brought pricey condominiums, boutique stores, and restaurants.
But a walk through the LES still reveals remnants of a once-bustling Jewish era.
Among them, the Eldridge Street Synagogue, iconic delis, street signs of long vanished haberdasheries and even a pickle vendor.
For a nostalgic look at the Jewish Lower East Side, watch this video from Jewish Discoveries.com
Harry D. Wall has a long career in journalism, advocacy and consulting. Most recently, he has taken a late-career move and began making documentary films about Jewish heritage and communities around the globe. His blog, Jewish Discoveries, is a travelogue of Jewish heritage and contemporary life around the world. You can keep up to date with his travels on the blog or Facebook.com/JDiscoveries.
