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The
Hidden Immigrants
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Immigrants descend from an airplane in the
last of seven murals from Immigration on the Lower East
Side, by Richard Haas.
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One of New York City's many tributes to immigrant life is hidden
from passersby, covered by the trees that line White Street.
A series of murals, called Immigration on the Lower East Side,
stretch along the wall of the White Street Detention Center at the
intersection with Baxter Street in Chinatown.
Created by Richard Haas in 1989, the seven panels show changing
waves of immigration, beginning with people arriving on steamboats
and ending with immigrants stepping down from an airplane (pictured
right).
The middle panels show historical scenes from immigrant life in
the surrounding neighborhood - people working in sewing factories
and hand laundries.
Haas' original design for the panel showing contemporary Lower
East Side life - complete with a homeless person and a wrecked car
- created a public-art controversy. The artist redrew the panel
to show a fruit vendor, a musical group, and a circle of domino
players.
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