Scavenger Hunt: Lower East Side

This is my third post from my dim sum adventure with Carin.  As you can tell, we saw a TON of stuff.   And there’s still more!

After walking down Canal Street from Chinatown, we next went to an area in the Lower East Side (LES) that’s by Seward Park.  This was traditionally a very Jewish area according to my friend Carin.  And as we know from of my previous scavenger hunt posts, she’s a Jew and therefore would know. ;)  (Before you get offended, I’m obviously saying that tongue in cheek).  This was also confirmed by my book.  In the mid-1880’s many many Jews ended up in NYC (and particularly the LES) to escape persecution from Czar Alexander III, who was an anti-Semite who unleashed “wholesale pogroms” against the Jewish population in Russia, Ukraine and Poland.  (Ch. 94)  Anyway, by the end of the 1800s New York was the largest Jewish city in the world and remains to today (if you don’t count metropolitan Tel Aviv).  (Ch. 94)

First up on the tour was the Eldridge Street Synagogue.  It was the first major synagogue built by Eastern Europeans Jews in the city (completed in 1887).  (Ch. 94)  Though on its face, it looks almost Christian in style, it still has encoded Jewish meaning.  (Ch. 94)

The rose windows pictured above is made from 12 smaller roses, symbolizing the 12 tribes of Israel.  Below that are 5 windows, representing the 5 books of the Torah.  Below that, the 4 entryways represent the 4 matriarchs.

Down Division Street just up the corner from the Eldridge Synagogue are the last remnants of NY’s elevated railway.  In the late 19th Century, NY was having a whole host of problems.  The most significant of which were lack of public transportation and lack of open space (CP help to solve the latter problem).  On June 11, 1870, the “El” opened for business by Charles T. Harvey.  (Ch. 81)  However, these trains suffered lots of engineering problems.  Harvey was bought out and the New York Elevated Company took over with steam locomotion.  (Ch. 81)  Critics at the time imagined the city turning into some sort of multi-tier city much like in the movie Star Wars or the Fifth Element  with the lower levels being polluted, dirty places where the light of the sun was never seen.  Obviously this did not come to pass from the ground to the air but rather from the ground to further below ground.  The only remaining evidence of the El is a sign on a very nondescript (and, honestly, not very well described building in the book) sign that was on a power substation that provided electrical power for the trains.  (Ch. 81)

Look closely!

Waking from the Division and Allen toward Seward Park, you can see the “Forward” building on Straus Square.  This is the building of one of the most famous Yiddish-language newspapers, the Jewish Daily Forward.  (Ch. 130)  In the 1930’s it had achieved a national circulation of 275,000.  (Ch. 130)  Abraham Cahan, the man behind the newspaper, used it to further union and labor causes while at the same time attending to recent transplant needs.  (Ch. 130)  At the time the building was finished, it was the tallest building in the LES.  (Ch. 130)  Ironically, it’s now the home of luxury condominiums.  (Ch. 130).

In the same neighborhood, is the city’s first municipal playground, Seward Park established in 1899.  (Ch. 113)  At first it was just a park, but in 1903, the city added all-new playground equipment, making it the first city-run playground.  (Ch. 113)  The park was named for William H. Seward, who was both a NY governor and the famed senator whose “folly” gave us Alaska.  (Ch. 113)

William Seward

Right across the street from the park was this little shop that sold pickled whatever you want.  They had them in large barrels that were open (ew!).  The good news is that we got to taste their daily special -- pickled pineapples (like I said before it was a taste of sensory exploration)!  The pickled pineapples were actually pretty tasty.  A nice blend of sweet and sour with a little red pepper flake kick at the end.  Carin and I both got sour pickles for the road.  Too bad I won't be here for the annual Pickle Festival since it's on October 17... bummer!

This was featured in another guidebook that I've been using (and wished I had had a chance to use more!). 
The Best Things to do in New York - #964

Pickled pineapple in an open vat...

I've been cuter...

Carin is so excited!

It's confirmed.  They were sour!

# 746 This store was insane.  Think a grittier version of those mall bulk candy stores and add a fabulous selection of European candy.  The line was long or else I would have stocked up.

#410 The famous Kat'z Deli.  We didn't go inside because, as you can see, the line was INSANE.  Quick reference, this is the deli where Meg Ryan's character in When Harry Met Sally faked an orgasm.