A shop selling chickens. 55 hester Street, New York, USA, 1937
Must Know
Half-plucked and whole chickens are hung by their feet at a Jewish chicken market. Shot by American photographer Berenice Abbott, this photograph depicts just one scene from the flourishing Jewish life and trade that developed on hester Street.
hester street is located on the lover East side fo Manhattan and is named after hester Leisler, daughter of Jacob Leisler (governor of the British province of New York during the 1600s). What made hester street so significant for Jewish culture is that it housed and supported Jewish business from a variety Russian, Polish, Austrian-Hungarian and Balkan Jewish immigrants. Among other streets, Jewish culture and religion thrived on hester street through its synagogues, Yiddish theatres and shops as well as both english and Yiddish on shop fronts. Jewish businesses thrived as well, selling fruit, fish, meat, shows and more.
hester street is still an important place for Jewish life in New York. Its street fair, which was originally established in 1895, is still active today and is one of New York’s largest and oldest pushcart markets.
