![]() ![]() Once I got a closer look at its complex design and industrial heft, I knew it would make a great addition to our exhibition. Mark explained that it was an apple peeler and corer that his grandfather had used to prepare apples for herring salad, one of the store’s signature dishes. With its sturdy base and crank on the end, it had the look of a sewing machine – a tool of an essential New York trade that we had considered showing in the gallery – but was clearly something different. On a high shelf sat a device that had the heavy cast-iron quality of early 20th century manufacturing. An inexpensive, nutritious fish that could feed a hungry family, herring was a staple in the kitchens of the Lower East Side.Īfter a few minutes I spotted it. Joel Russ was one such immigrant: he arrived from a village in southern Poland in 1907 and began selling herring from a pushcart shortly thereafter. They also started small businesses that transformed the social and economic character of the city. Men and women from places like Italy, Russia, Poland, Greece, and Lithuania staffed the factories that churned out an astonishing array of products. ![]() As immigration from southern and eastern Europe peaked in the years before WWI, neighborhoods like the Lower East Side teemed with newcomers who crowded into its narrow streets and dark tenements. We also highlight the massive influx of immigrants who arrived at Ellis Island in record numbers at the beginning of the 20th century-one of the key drivers of this economic engine. At the outset of the gallery, we introduce a city that is a hive of economic activity: a booming center of finance, commerce and production. The second gallery of New York at Its Core, “World City,” will cover the period from 1898-2012. ![]()
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