Little Syria
This month, I’m launching “Little Syria Illustrated”, a daily series reimagining the lost storefronts, restaurants, and everyday spaces of Manhattan’s first Arab neighborhood. Just south of the World Trade Center, Little Syria thrived from the late 1800s to the 1940s, home to Arabic newspapers, restaurants, bookbinders, and immigrants from Greater Syria (modern-day Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, and Jordan).
Using historical documents, photos, and newspaper ads, I’m attempting to bring back 30 of these places in ink and color, one drawing a day, to reimagine what a thriving Arab neighborhood in the heart of lower Manhattan looks like. This is a tribute to a neighborhood that helped shape Arab-American life, now nearly erased from the city map.
Follow along. Share. And if you’ve got family stories or records from Little Syria, I’d love to hear them. #littlesyriaillustrated
