97 Orchard Street, a tenement located in New York City’s Lower East Side neighborhood, offers visitors a chance to step back in time and into a uniquely preserved residential building. 

A metal staircase, decorated with ornamental design, connects to a doorway to a tenement apartment building in New York City 

Opened in 1988, the museum explores history through the stories of everyday people. Millions of Americans can trace their ancestry back to apartments like the ones preserved by the museum.   

A corner of a brick building that five stories tall and has a sign that reads Tenement Museum

A Picture of Working-Class Life, Painted with Everyday Objects

“A Union of Hope: 1869” explores the story of Joseph and Rachel Moore, Black New Yorkers who lived in a Manhattan tenement. Objects displayed throughout prompt visitors to consider the daily lives of residents through the artifacts they may have collected. Clément Pascal for Mellon Foundation

A fireplace mantle is adorned with objects collected from 19th century America: books, candlesticks, a wooden clock, porcelain items and a glass lantern

A recreation of the apartment includes a stove where residents would have cooked, and washed, and dried clothing. Indoor plumbing was not mandated in tenements until 1901. 

An old iron cooking stove with a pipe leading to the ceiling. On top of the stove are iron pots and hanging above the stove is a clothesline with articles pinned to dry.

Thousands of families lived in the tenements on Orchard street. The museum’s care for the buildings maintains the safety of spaces for today’s visitors, while also preserving evidence of time gone by as seen in layers of wall coverings. 

A detailed view of walls in a historic apartment shows layers of peeling wallpapers, and old materials, evidence of many residents who lived there

Food tells a story and further connects visitors to the time period. In a time of bartering, working-class residents may have been compensated with food; common items included eggs, apples, bread, and oysters. 

A table with artificial food: a bowl of apples, a basket of eggs, a plate of bread loaf cut, and a bowl of oysters. Cooking utensils sit next to the food. 

Joseph and Rachel Moore may have moved to New York City seeking greater economic opportunities, each working multiple jobs. Although they were born free, historical records show they encountered discrimination from landlords and employers just as other Black New Yorkers experienced in this period following the Civil War.  

A wood rack hangs on a wall and holds garments from the 19th century, including a coat, hats, and a shirt. A book bound with a leather strap also hangs from a hook. 

Sensational news accounts of this time cast tenements as dirty and crime  laden. “We want to have more accurate and true histories about New York, about Black New Yorkers,” says Marquis Taylor, lead researcher.

A wooden chest with drawers holds a large pitcher and several small glass bottles and other personal items.

An 1869 directory was a primary source that helped researchers make a meaningful connection between two Joseph Moores, and helped to link the family whose story is told in “Union of Hope: 1869” to the apartments at 97 Orchard Street.

A detailed list of 19th century New York residents in alphabetical order by last name. A hand, in sillouette, points to an entry, “Joseph Moore”

A portrait of Dr. Annie Polland, president of the Tenement Museum

Learning about the stories of ordinary people allows us... to see the ways that our communities have evolved into what they are today. 

Marquis Taylor, lead researcher for the exhibit, referenced census data, municipal records, and Black-owned or operated newspapers to learn about the Moore family. A practicing humanities scholar, Taylor was also an MMUF fellow. 

A researcher, Marquis Taylor, stands in an aisle with shelves on either side that hold standing file boxes

“Black New Yorkers were here and they contributed to this city’s history,” says Taylor of the important inclusion of the Moore Family exhibit at the Tenement Museum. 

A view of a dilapidated wall is illuminated by sun in a window

A first-of-its-kind exhibition explores 19th century New York City through the interpretation of one Black family’s history.

The Lower East Side Tenement Museum

A letter sent to the Tenement Museum more than 30 years ago implored the museum to remember the lives of Black New Yorkers. “Union of Hope: 1869,” a new exhibit with related educational programming, answers this call and introduces visitors to Joseph and Rachel Moore through a tour of their recreated dwelling. 

An ornamentally decorated wood bed holds a quilt and pillows. A lantern sits on a side table next to the bed and illuminates a wooden cross that hangs on the wall above it.. 

A wooden bed holds a quilt and pillows. A lantern sits on a side table next to the bed and illuminates a wooden cross that hangs on the wall above it.

Meet the Moore Family: American History, Hope, and Dreams

Artists as Catalysts

Artists as Catalysts Navigation Image

Beyond Incarceration

A side profile of a Black poet who is wearing glasses and a hat with a feather hat pin.

Borderlands Cultures

In portrait orientation, an aerial view of a major highway running parallel to a large border wall set on a hilly landscape

Civic Engagement

A man in a brown jacket stands in front of blue bulletin board that is covered with papers and advertisements  

Evolving Higher Education

A vertical image of an Indigenous person who is sitting on a chair in front of a backdrop.

Expanding Public Knowledge

An interior room filled with audio and video equipment 

Monuments and Memory

A multicolored painted totem pole set in front of a foggy forest landscape

Multivocality

Five people stand together in a group photo. They are laughing and smiling.

Power of the Word

Five colorful neon signs hang on the wall with messages that include, "Freedom cannot wait," "Brown owned," and "America is for Dreamers."

Public Places‚ Public Stories

A group of Indigenous Maskoke people stand and sit in the wooden frame of a structure in a woods

Puerto Rico and Its Diaspora

In a vertical image, a black leather vest is adorned with colorful pins across the front of it. Embroidery on the vest reads: "Felícitas "La Prieta" Méndez" 

Related