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Step back in time for two history lessons from returning instructor Jess Velona. On Thursday, May 1, 2025, delve into the complicated political life of Churchill, Britain's Incomparable Leader (13295). His career was marked by bitter failures and glorious achievements, dubious party-switching, and masterful public speeches. His prescient diagnosis of Hitler’s threat propelled his resurgence after he was nearly forgotten, setting the stage for his unparalleled leadership of Britain during World War II and beyond.
On Sunday, May 18, 2025, Velona leads Walking Tour: Step Back in Time to the Old Lower East Side (13291). Stroll through the Jewish neighborhood, whose teeming tenements formed the heart of the most crowded place in the late nineteenth century world. Stop by a gloriously restored historic synagogue and the Jewish-owned bank tower where struggling immigrants built their nest eggs. Briefly visit the surrounding wards, marked at the time by gangs, flophouses, homeless newsboys and the noisy, smoke-belching elevated railway, as well as the seventeenth century Jewish cemetery that is the oldest human site in Manhattan. Along the way, track unforgettable photographs by Jacob Riis and others to the exact spots they were taken, portraying the struggles and desperation of immigrant life.
Look forward to the mild weather while looking back and learning about the past!
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