Tenements were large buildings constructed with cheap materials that had many apartments housing families on a rental basis. They were built and inhabited as tenements mostly around the 1800s and 1900s and nowadays a few places around the world invite visitors to learn about the history of life in the tenements.
New York
By far the most famous tenement museum is located in New York City’s Lower East Side. The area was home to immigrants from various countries, many willing to do whatever it took to remain in the United States, even live in deplorable conditions. The museum includes guided tours of apartments inside two of the historic buildings, as well as walking tours around the neighborhood, telling the stories of the generations of migrants who lived in the city in previous generations.
Dublin, Ireland
14 Henrietta Street in Dublin’s North Side is the historical home of Dublin’s Tenement museum. The building is a Georgian townhouse that’s remained intact since its construction as homes for the wealth in the mid-18th century and became tenements in the early 20th century. A ticket includes a tour of the building that includes the stories of the 100 people who called 14 Henrietta Street home.
