Tenement Museum
New York, New York
The romance of low-rent survival in a pestilence-infested 19th century New York City tenement is brought to life in the Tenement Museum. It's a real tenement, shuttered for 50 years, slowly being restored and reopened apartment-by-apartment. Each tells the story of a different immigrant family that actually lived in it, stressing a rainbow of ethnicities and range of time periods. Kind of like a modern-day reality show, except all the contestants are dead.
The museum does a good job of recreating the tenement's oppressive physical space and lack of amenities, although it would help recapture the moment if you can tour on a sweltering summer day and imagine the smell of overflowing cesspools wafting through the windows.