Food and Shopping in the Lower East Side

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Catherine Furst Schwartzmeier Lindemann Minnie Goehle Peter Goehle
Langans in New York City Walshes in New York City

Food and Shopping

Most tenement dwellings did not have refrigeration until the 1930s. In the summer time it was necessary to shop frequently since the food would not keep.

The lack of refrigeration and storage required that food be bought in small quantities which is always more expensive that buying in bulk hence increasing the cost of food.

The most common beverage was tea.

In addition to permanent shops, there were open air markets, and peddlers selling their wares from push cards.

The peddlers frequently were at the same location every day. Everything was sold off peddler's carts — food, bedding, toys, etc. Some carts were seasonal such as: Ice cream and lemonade in the summer — Hot potatoes and corn in the fall. Some types of produce were more readably available in one neighborhood versus another — clams were popular in Italian neighborhoods but not sold in Jewish neiborhoods.


Mulberry Street
Cosmo 1890, Co-Operative Housekeeping in Tenements by Elizabeth Bislands, collection of Maggie Land Blanck


Work, 1904

Lower East Side Shopping 1904


Scribner's Monthly December 1879, Collection of Maggie Land Blanck

Fish Vender

Independent October 18, 1906, Collection of Maggie Land Blanck

Typical Peddler, Forsyth Street Near Grand

Independent October 18, 1906, Collection of Maggie Land Blanck

Clam Seller in Mulberry Street

Independent October 18, 1906, Collection of Maggie Land Blanck

Lemonade Seller, Hester and Ludlow Streets

Independent October 18, 1906, Collection of Maggie Land Blanck

Mulberry Street North from Hester

Independent October 18, 1906, Collection of Maggie Land Blanck

Corner of Hester and Suffolk Streets

Postcard collection of Maggie Land Blanck

New York Street Life. Ice Cream Venders. Posted 1903

Postcard collection of Maggie Land Blanck

New York Street Life. "Bretzel" Peddler. Not posted.

Postcard collection of Maggie Land Blanck

New York Street Life. Vegtable Peddlers. Not posted.

Postcard collection of Maggie Land Blanck

New York Street Life. Cheese Venders on Mulberry Street. Not posted.

Postcard collection of Maggie Land Blanck

A Scene in the Ghetto, New York City. Not posted

Picture cut from Zeisloft's The New Metropolis, 1899, Collection of Maggie Land Blanck

IN LIEU OF A REFRIDGERATOR, THE FIRE ESCAPE IS UTILIZED FOR THE DAY'S MARKETING

Christmas Shopping Avenue A

While the women with their shawls pulled tight and the girl's blowing skirt indicate that the weather is at least chilly, no one is wearing an overcoat.

Children of the Tenement, Jacob A Riis

For more images of the streets and stores go to Lower Manhattan


Tenement Life

For general information about and pictures of life in the tenements, click on the image of the laundry in the tenement yards.


Frank Leslie Illustrated Newspaper July 1, 1865

Children of the Tenements

Click on image.


New York Immigration Pictures

With only two exceptions, the Blanck/Land ancestors immigrated through New York City between 1849 and 1921. For pictures and information on immigration into New York City, click on the picture of immigrants in Castle Gardens in 1880


Contrasts in Life Style between the Haves and Haves Nots

Click on image.


Lower East Side

Click on image.


The Lower East Side Tenement Museum has information on the 1901 Tenement House Art at The Tenement House Act by Andrew Dolkart

The Lower East Side Tenement Museum's home page is at Lower East Side Tenement Museum

Catherine Furst Schwartzmeier Lindemann Minnie Goehle Peter Goehle
Langans in New York City Walshes in New York City

To see my collection of images of lower Manhattan go to Lower Manhattan

To see my collection of images of the immigration experience go to Immigration

To see my collection of images of the immigration experience from Ireland go to Irish Emigration

If you have any suggestions, corrections, information, copies of documents, or photos that you would like to share with this page, please contact me at maggie@maggieblanck.com

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