Material Detail

Archaeologists and historians rediscover a famous nineteenth-century New York neighborhood, the Five Points district. Named for the points created by the intersection of Park, Worth, and Baxter streets, the neighborhood was known as a center of vice and debauchery throughout the nineteenth century. The archaeological excavation of the Foley Square courthouse block provided the opportunity to examine the physical remains of life in this infamous place. This virtual exhibit begins to tell the story of what was found. Through the study of the artifacts recovered in 1991, the daily lives of the people who lived at Five Points become visible. A team of 17 archaeologists, conservators, and historians is analyzing the 850,000 artifacts recovered from the Foley Square courthouse block. Out of the analysis comes a richer story about the working-class residents of Five Points, the neighborhood's reputation as New York's most notorious slum, and its overcrowded tenement neighborhood teeming with newly arrived immigrants struggling to succeed in an alien city. This virtual exhibit includes artifacts from 4 of the 22 excavated features.

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