Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space facts for kids
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A French marching band in front of MoRUS
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| Established | 2012 |
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| Location | 155 Avenue C, Manhattan, New York 10009 |
The Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space (MoRUS) is a special museum in New York City. It was started in 2012 by the Times Up! Environmental Organization. This museum collects and shares the history of how people in the Lower East Side neighborhood of Manhattan worked together. They focused on creating community gardens, fixing up empty buildings, and helping the environment.
MoRUS is located at 155 Avenue C. It shows how people in the neighborhood turned empty spaces and lots into useful places. They made these into homes and gardens. By keeping this history alive, the museum teaches others. It encourages people to continue this kind of helpful, community-based action.
How the Museum Started
In the 1970s, New York City faced a tough economic time. This meant less help from the city for many neighborhoods, especially the Lower East Side. Many building owners left their buildings empty, even if people still lived there. Because of this, many people had to leave the neighborhood.
However, the Lower East Side was home to many artists, musicians, and activists. Instead of moving, these residents decided to take action. They fixed up abandoned buildings. They turned them into shared living spaces, like homes and community centers. In these places, people held meetings and shared skills. They worked together to manage their new spaces. Empty lots were also turned into beautiful community gardens. These gardens became places where people could gather.
The Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space was created by Bill Di Paola and Laurie Mittelmann. Their goal was to save the history of New York City's Lower East Side. They also wanted to celebrate the local communities. These groups worked together to make the neighborhood a famous cultural spot in New York City.
What You Can See at the Museum
The museum is located in the storefront of C-Squat. This is one of the few buildings in the Lower East Side that people still live in and manage together. The museum is very focused on its local area. It is run by volunteers from the neighborhood. It shares the history of the area through exhibits, walking tours, and events.
The museum has permanent exhibits that explore different parts of the neighborhood's history. These include topics like helping the environment, community spaces, and the Occupy Wall Street movement. They also have changing exhibits. These have shown things like 1980s street posters and the community garden movement. A current exhibit looks at the punk music movement and its ideas.
The museum also offers educational walking tours. These tours take you through the neighborhood's community-managed homes and gardens. The guides explain the challenges people faced with developers and police. They talk about how residents worked to keep control of their urban spaces. The tour guides are local activists and historians. The museum says these activities help connect the neighborhood's history of action with the idea of living in a way that helps the planet. In 2020, the museum published a book. It is called History of the East Village & Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space. This book tells the story of MoRUS and the East Village.
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An event in the Museum's lobby.
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Volunteers work to preserve and protect the history of their neighborhood through archival work.
