Manhattan's Lower West side is one of New York City's most historic neighborhoods.  Long before the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel, the World Trade Center and Battery Park City, the section of the city's Financial District bounded by Liberty Street to the north, the Hudson River to the west, Battery Park to the south and Broadway to the east, was bustling with shops, residential tenement buildings and churches. Between 1900 and 1970, the neighborhood was home to a melting pot of immigrants from countries and regions such as Ireland, Slovakia, Greece, Carpatho-Rus, and Lebanon/Syria.  Within this geographically small area, people of diverse cultures lived and worked together.  All of them were grateful to call America their home.

            The western tip of Manhattan was only a short boat ride from Ellis Island, where each day immigrants, who had journeyed for weeks to reach their new home first disembarked before crossing the Hudson to start their new lives.  For many, life in America would begin in other parts of the city - or the country.  For others, the downtown neighborhood would become a place where they would build businesses, raise families, form friendships and shape memories that would last a lifetime.

            The Lost Neighborhood captures and preserves this neighborhood's history during this time-period and offers a place where visitors to this site can celebrate the lives of its former residents and hear their personal stories. 

Long time residents of the Lower Westside neighborhood, Martin and Barbara Rizek dreamt of making the story of the downtown neighborhood known.  Along with Joanne Medvecky, a researcher whose family settled in the financial district at the turn of the 19^th century, they brought their dream to fruition with the publishing of the “The Financial District’s Lost Neighborhood - 1900 - 1970” (Arcadia Publishing) in 2003. The book contains photos and descriptions of life on the Lower Westside during this time period.  The book may be purchased at most bookstores and online book sites.