Eldridge Street Synagogue
The Eldridge Street Synagogue was built in 1887 on Eldridge Street in Manhattan , New York City, as a synagogue for Eastern European Ashkenazi Jews .
Geographical location
The synagogue is located at 12 Eldridge Street, Manhattan, now in the middle of Chinatown. It is positioned approximately in a west-east direction. The entrance on Eldridge Street is on the western narrow side, the Torah shrine on the eastern narrow side of the building.
history
The congregation Kahal Adath Jeshurun under Rabbi Eliahu the blessed, former chief rabbi in Russia's St. Petersburg was initially housed temporarily, but grew in the last quarter of the 19th century quickly and urgently needed a bigger synagogue building. The parish had several thousand members at their heyday. On high public holidays, the traffic was so heavy that police were seconded to regulate traffic in the vicinity of the synagogue.
The more restrictive US immigration policy after World War I and the emigration of acculturated former immigrants and their descendants caused the membership of the community to dwindle. From 1930, the use of the synagogue decreased considerably and the community could no longer afford the heating costs for the main room. From around 1950 structural damage occurred due to neglected construction maintenance, rainwater penetrated and rotted the wooden stairs to the main room, which had to be closed. During a storm, part of the east wall and the rose window embedded in it were destroyed. The main synagogue therefore had to be abandoned and the rest of the community withdrew to the basement for worship . The neighborhood of the synagogue developed more and more into the "Chinatown" of Manhattan.
In 1986 a non-profit association was founded, the "Eldridge Street Project", which set itself the goal of restoring the building as a historic monument . She managed to raise the necessary money. The restoration of the building was completed after 20 years in 2007 and cost $ 20 million. The destroyed rose window on the east wall was closed with a modern stained glass window, which Kiki Smith created in 2010 in collaboration with architect Deborah Gans and marked the completion of the restoration work . The basement is now used for church services, the main hall as a museum as the "Museum at Eldrige Street". It reminds of the neighborhood's Jewish history, the importance of the synagogue building and the history of immigration to the United States.
Building
The architects of the synagogue building were the brothers Peter and Francis William Herter. They erected a building in a historicist mix of styles that mixed elements of neo-Gothic and neo-Moorish architecture . In the basement there was a yeshiva that is now used as a worship room. The main floor, which is raised to street level, is occupied by the main synagogue room. This is 20 m high and vaulted. The women's gallery was built into the narrow western side of the room . Both narrow sides of the room were decorated with neo-Gothic rose windows. All windows are designed as stained glass , the room is completely painted. The blue ceiling of the room is adorned with five-pointed stars - an allusion to the stars in the flag of the United States out of gratitude for the religious freedom that prevails here - in contrast to the countries of origin of many parishioners .
meaning
The synagogue is one of the oldest surviving Ashkenazi synagogues in the United States . It is rated by the National Park Service as the most important monument of Orthodox Judaism in the USA. The synagogue has been a National Historic Landmark since June 1996 and has been on the National Register of Historic Places since March 1980 .
literature
- Diane Cole: Joy on Eldridge Street. In: Preservation Magazine. 60/2, March / April 2008, p. 56.
- Andrew S. Dolkart: Guide to New York City Landmarks . 4th edition. New York 2009, ISBN 978-0-470-28963-1 .
- Historic New York synagogue celebrates $ 20M restoration . In: Haaretz . December 3, 2007.
- Annie Polland: Landmark of the Spirit. The Eldridge Street Synagogue . Yale 2009.
- Edward Rothstein: Return of a Long-Dormant Island of Grace . In: The New York Times . December 1, 2007.
- Norval White, Elliot Willensky, Fran Leadon: AIA Guide to New York City. 5th edition. New York 2010, ISBN 978-0-19-538386-7 , p. 100.
Web links
- Official website
- National Park Service: National Historic Landmark summary listing - Eldridge Street Synagogue .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Rothenstein.
- ↑ Dolkart, p. 45.
- ^ National Park Service: National Historic Landmark summary .
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↑ Listing of National Historic Landmarks by State: New York. National Park Service , accessed August 19, 2019.
Eldridge Street Synagogue on the National Register Information System. National Park Service , accessed August 19, 2019.
Coordinates: 40 ° 42 ′ 52.8 " N , 73 ° 59 ′ 36.5" W.