A very well done tour of an actual tenement walkup from the turn of the 20th century. If your ancestors came over "on the boat" from Europe (as mine did around 1910), this is a fascinating look at the way they may have lived and the challenges they endured. A wholly authentic slice of Americana not to be missed.

We took the more expensive tour which ended with tea and cookies . We got to experience 2 very different family apartments and learn about the lives of the tenants .

Truly a slice of historic New York. The on-going film in the ticket center is an amazingly detailed and very interesting portrait of immigration in New York, right up to the present. A word of advice: don't go in August when it's 92 degrees. My husband and I didn't know, of course, that part of the tour is an actual... More

This is an astounding place that gives one a true sense of early New York in a very unromantic way.

This was a first hand look into American history and life. As a descendent of Ellis Island immigrants it was enlightening to see how families lived during the early 1900s. Very moving stories. The guide we had was very knowledgeable and made the tour very worthwhile. I highly recommend it.

I went here with my mother and it was a fantasic opportunity to see firsthand what a typical tenement was like for immigrants arrivign in America at the turn of the 20th Century. I can just imagine how hot it must have been in the summer months before electric fans were available--let alone air conditioners!!!! HIGHLY recommended

A very annoying and expensive tour which I would only recommend if it was raining. Visitors who are shocked by conditions and facilities in this tenement must have had very privileged upbringings. We actually thought the rooms were quite nice!! We did not gasp when we heard about families sharing a bed, having a bath in a tin bath and... More

A slice of history that encapsulates the immigrant experience. Wonderful program for children as well. Check it out!

We took the Irish People's tour, which focused on the lives of one family in the mid to late 1800s. Our guide (who was very well versed in the history of the time period) provided a wonderful overview of the neighborhood and the struggle of Irish immigrants during that time period and provided a great tour of the building. Very... More