The Bustling, Unpictured Cafés of New York's Lower East Side
What gave the lingering café-goers of New York's Lower East Side their mythical status? Why did illustrations like the one above appear in so many Yiddish papers of the 1900s, broadcast alongside gossip and stories of fascination to millions of readers living in New York and beyond? What did so many different communities and viewers see in these scenes of leisure, intellectualism, conflict, and ease? And why was are photographs of this era of Jewish community life, or one particular iteration of community, so rare?
This pathway helps explore these questions in light of a variety of visual resources. Click below to start!