Eldridge Street Synagogue, New York

Located at 12 Eldridge Street in the Lower East Side of Manhattan, the Eldridge Street Synagogue is the first American synagogue founded by Eastern European Jews. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and in 2007, the Museum at Eldridge Street restored the Moorish Revival building to preserve its original aesthetic while removing the signs of age.

History

In 1887, several Eastern European Jews, including Rabbi Eliahu Borok, the former Head Rabbi of St. Petersburg, Florida, hired architects Peter and Francis Herter to design an elaborate Moorish Revival synagogue for Congregation Kadal Adath Jeshurun. Based on the quality of the building, the brothers received many more commissions in the area that incorporated many of the synagogue’s architectural elements; even the local newspapers reviewed the building. For decades, the synagogue offered a house of worship for Orthodox Jews and acculturation to new Jewish immigrants to the United States. However, the synagogue’s fortunes declined, due to immigration quotas, the migration of members to other areas and the Great Depression. The building deteriorated until it was closed in 1955; it remained closed until 1980.

Restoration

In 1986, a non-profit organization called the Eldridge Street Project began plans to restore the synagogue and turn it into a museum. The restoration, which strove to preserve the aesthetic authenticity of the building, cost $20 million and took 20 years; it reopened in 2007.

Today, the Eldridge Street Synagogue is the home of the Museum at Eldridge Street, where visitors come to learn about the history of Jewish life and immigration in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Fittingly, Congregation Kadal Adath Jeshurun continues to hold evening services in the synagogue, proving that some things never change.