Thread by @washingtonpost

In the middle of the 19th century, hundreds of thousands of new Americans flooded into New York.

They found homes in buildings like this one, on Orchard Street on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. wapo.st/3GhSbOA

Today, it's preserved by the Tenement Museum, a public history organization.

Inside, visitors can see relics and reminders of one of the most consequential migrations in human history, a flood tide of humanity that changed the fabric of America. wapo.st/3GhSbOA

For decades, tenement dwellers had only basic protection from fire but almost none from disease.

As public understanding of contagious disease improved, housing laws in 1879 and 1901 helped spur incremental changes. wapo.st/3GhSbOA

Among the busiest spaces in this crowded building was this basement saloon, operated by John and Caroline Schneider, a German couple, from 1864 to 1886.

Beer gardens and saloons were essential social glue for German immigrants. wapo.st/3GhSbOA

In the 1860s, disease was an urgent fear, and rife in New York’s tenements.

Residents grappled with such diseases as tuberculosis, cholera and influenza. wapo.st/3GhSbOA

Take a look at how the Tenement Museum has preserved history by exploring this 3D model, made with photogrammetry.

This story also contains audio so you can listen as you scroll. wapo.st/3GhSbOA