Michael Singer was selected to collaborate with Richard Rabinowitz of American History Workshop to develop the interpretive program and a design for the interior of the Lower East Side Tenement Museum on Orchard Street in New York City. The Singer and American History Workshop plan preserves the layers of history in this building and defines a restoration program as well as an interpretive and exhibition design for the institution. This plan focuses on "Light" as a guiding principle to understanding political, social, economic and cultural issues that effected life in tenement buildings from 1860 through 1930. The plan also addresses current issues facing immigrants arriving on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. By allowing the visitor to experience the building as an archeological remnant that is not fully restored to a single period of time, the plan places the museum visitors in an active, dynamic role; searching and questioning as they experience evidence of the building's systems construction and change over time. This project was funded by the NEA and NEH.

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