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In 1988, Ruth Abram founded the Lower East Side Tenement Museum, determining that the institution’s mission would be to "promote tolerance and historical perspective through the presentation and interpretation of varied immigrant experiences on the Lower East Side, a gateway to America." Daughter of civil rights activist, Morris Abram, Ruth, growing up in Atlanta, Georgia, was disturbed by the injustices and inequities that permeate society. She was aware, as a child, of the discrimination faced by African Americans in her native South. At same time, she experienced bigotry personally when excluded from social events in high school because she was Jewish.

After getting a Master’s degree in Social Work from Brandeis University, she put her education, experiences and passion to work by fighting to right the wrongs of society. Aware of the power of history to stimulate dialogue on contemporary issues, she went back to school to get a Master’s in History at New York University. Soon thereafter she founded the Lower East Side Tenement Museum. Working out of a storefront with a staff of four and limited exhibit space, the Museum has grown considerably since 1988. Last year, Mayor Rudolph Giuliani named the block of Orchard Street between Delancey and Broome Streets – the block where the Museum stands – as New York City’s official Centennial Block. Also last year, the Museum was designated a National Historic Site affiliated with the National Park Service. As a result, it is eligible for support from the Park Service and the Federal government.

The Museum is housed in a five-story apartment building on Orchard Street, and was home to approximately 25,000 people from twenty-five countries between the years of 1863 to 1935 (at which time it was condemned as a residence.) It features two galleries and a theater. Its libraries and archives are available for staff and participating scholars. It offers walking tours, plays, multi-media shows, and exhibits. Its newspaper, Tenement Times, brings the work of scholars to the general public. Its educational programs served over 25,000 school children last year.

The American Association of Museum has noted that the Tenement Museum is "virtually alone among American museums in its focus on the housing and lives of urban working class people. It is alone as a museum of tenement life." [It] is an "extraordinary achievement."