AIC 53rd Annual Meeting

In preservation, where recreated historic interiors are a norm, we know nothing tells the story quite like the real thing. The Lower East Side Tenement Museum in New York City has recently completed a multi-year, $7 million capital project to make the building more energy efficient, upgrade its HVAC system, restore the exterior masonry, and add strengthening materials to make the building more structurally sound. Although the museum did add a recreated apartment, conservators spent over 12 months preserving the paint, plaster, and wallpaper of the original “ruin” apartments.

The Tenement Museum is a five-story brick building located in a neighborhood densely packed with tenements and factories and was historically a first home for those new to the United States. Between its construction in 1863 and the 1930s, immigrants from over 20 countries lived in the tiny apartments of 97 Orchard Street. Instead of making additional alterations to meet changing housing codes in 1935, the landlord chose to evict all the tenants and sealed off the upper floors, leaving them uninhabited until 1988 when the museum took over the building. As a result, these apartments became a time capsule of immigrant life in America. The museum is unique in both its interpretation of the building and its occupants over time as well as its treatment of the ruin apartments in a state of “arrested decay” with their peeling wallpaper, curled plaster, bare wood, and faded linoleum. In addition to retaining the authenticity of the apartments, retention of these finishes assists in telling the story of the people who lived there, including changes in aesthetic tastes over time.  

Conservation work began prior to construction to install protection around historic fabric in areas of selective demolition. As time and funds were limited, conservation treatments to each room of each apartment could not be performed. The conservator and museum worked together to prioritize rooms and apartments based on location, remaining historic fabric, and future programming needs. This resulted in conservation treatment being performed in ten of the fourteen apartments accessible to the public. The opening of floors, walls, and ceilings was required for the installation of structural I-beams and sistering joists. This required additional collaboration with the contractor to ensure the openings were created in locations that would have the least impact on the historic fabric. 

Visitors often remark that the ruin apartments are their favorite. In these spaces there is a direct visceral connection to the past: people lived in these rooms, walked these floors, and touched these walls. Retaining that connection is vital to the museum’s mission. 

This paper will discuss the importance of the collaboration between all parties involved in the project and will discuss some of the conservation challenges in stabilizing the ruin materials and making them safe for visitors while retaining the look of abandonment at the Tenement Museum.