Many immigrant groups might describe their attempt to "make it" in the United States as one long ceaseless hurdle, constantly having to adapt and manuever to improve their lives. The same rings true for the Syrian community in New York, which dates back to the 1880s. "Making it" entailed many different things for the Syrian immigrants. Leaving the Ottoman Empire to attain economic prosperity and religious freedom, these Syrians docked on Manhattan’s westside, settling just a few blocks away on Washington Street. They quickly got to work building their own small piece of New York, establishing Catholic and Orthodox churches in the same tenements in which they lived and worked. Many Syrians, both men and women, soon found employment peddling all sorts of goods to both fellow Syrians and other Americans. Like most other immigrant groups, they scrimped and saved the little they could in order to build a better life. Over time, many members of this small Syrian Colony "made it" and managed to attain a respectable level of prosperity.

Many Americans viewed this group of dark-skinned, non-European, "exotic Orients" with intrigue and suspicion. Syrians' employed  various techniques to both bridge the divide between East and West and to attain a level of economic prosperity that had been unattainable back in Syria. Interestingly, at times the Syrian community leaned into their role as "exotic Orients" to build prosperity. Yet at other moments, they relied on commonalities with white Americans, such as their shared Christian faith, to make an appeal for acceptance and cultural understanding. 

Through this collection of newspapers, photographs, and documents, come explore the Lost Colony of Little Syria and Syrian efforts to "make it" through economic prosperity and cultural acceptance.