The
Hamilton-Madison House Story
1898 - 2007
The stor
y
of countless immigrants and migrants is the story of Hamilton-Madison
House. Between 1880 and 1923, during the height of the exodus from the
Old World, within a space of a few square miles, as many nationalities
as could be found in all of Europe lived crowded in tenements on Manhattan’s
Lower East Side. Most were refugees who fled from pogroms, degrading poverty
or the suppression of human rights.
African-Americans and later the Irish had already settled in the shadows of the two mighty bridges spanning the East River. They found work on the wharves of this great mercantile center loading and unloading the bags of sugar, tea, coffee and spices that came from countries or places they left behind forever.
In 1898, two young German Jews founded the Madison House of the Downtown Ethical society to fight some of the serious problems of the day. These youths were disciples of Dr. Felix Adler, founder of the Society of Ethical Culture (1876).
The slums had rapidly become lethal chambers of disease. Tuberculosis, pneumonia, typhoid and diphtheria spread rampantly among the immigrants, claiming one entire block after another. One such block, an Italian and Sicilian enclave, was Hamilton Street.
In response to the epidemic, Miss Lillian Wald of the Henry Street Settlement and the NYC Visiting Nurse Service established a small “outpost” on Hamilton Street in 1902. Originally designed to serve public health
needs of newly arrived Italian immigrants, Hamilton House soon began serving the youths and young children of the community through a nursery and variety of other programs.
The Lower East Side of New York City, home to these humanitarian organizations, underwent a metamorphosis. As waves of immigrants shifted from European to Latino and Asian, both Hamilton House and Madison House went through a number of changes in order to meet the needs of the community. A landmark change for both settlement houses occurred in 1954 when they joined forces to become Hamilton-Madison House. In 1997, Hamilton-Madison House centralized most of its mental health services in the new Two Bridges Tower on South Street.
We take pride in our 108 years of history that essentially is an important part of the history of this city. Thousands of people have found opportunities at Hamilton-Madison House that helped them to change their lives. Each that has passed through our doors is part of our history.
We salute them in celebration.
Take a look into Hamilton-Madison House's past!
1898-1929
1930-1959
1960-1979
1980-1982
1983-1985
1986-1989
1990-1994
1995-1996
1997
1998-1999
2000-2002
2003
2004