|

Community Bands Together To Restore Crumbling 19th-Century Synagogue in NYC

ByMyProperty Life
Interior of synagogue at Eldridge Street

Photo: Rhododendrites via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

From the time it opened in 1887, Manhattan’s Eldridge Street Synagogue was a thriving place of worship for the local community. Located in Chinatown, it was one of the first synagogues erected by the Eastern European Jews in the United States. But after 50 years of bustling activity, it slowly fell into disrepair before being “rediscovered” in the 1980s and lovingly brought back to its former glory.

“The dust was so thick that you could write your initials on the benches,” recalls preservationist Roberta Brandes Gratz. Gratz first visited the synagogue in the early 1980s, when the roof was leaking and pigeons roosted in the balconies. By 1986, Gratz had founded the Eldridge Street Project with the goal of saving the historic place of worship. Now known as the Museum at Eldridge Street, the organization worked tirelessly to bring the massive renovation project to completion.

Read another article:Design Trends for Creating a Vacation Vibe at Home

Over 18,000 people dedicated time and resources to the renovation. In the early years, people would turn up to dust and polish worn silver. As time passed, the grassroots effort gained momentum, and, in 1996, the building was named a National Historic Landmark.

Before and after of main stained glass window at the Eldridge Street SynagogueBefore and after of main stained glass window at the Eldridge Street Synagogue

Before and after the restoration.

Preservationists spent 20 years and $20 million to return the building to its Victorian-era glory. Whether it meant rewiring and polishing a 19th-century chandelier or hand-painting designs on the walls, every detail helps tell the story of the history of American Judaism in the early 20th century.

Read another article:Hot Trends: 20 Best Farmhouse Style Kitchens in White and Wood

The restoration work was completed in 2007, but it wasn’t until three years later that one last touch would be added. As a nod to the space’s new revitalization, artists Kiki Smith and architect Deborah Gans designed a monumental glass-stained window to replace an earlier intervention from the 19th century.

Today, the space provides educational tours that explore the history of American Jews and Jewish culture in New York City.

“We’re one of the very, very few museums that are housed in a synagogue and are open to the general public,” said the museum’s deputy director, Sophie Lo. “Because of the history of [anti-semetic] hate, with most synagogues, you can’t just walk in. We want to say, come see us and experience this, and learn about these cultural practices.”

Over the course of 20 years, the public helped resurrect Manhattan’s Eldridge Street Synagogue.

Built in 1887, the synagogue was a popular place of worship over over 50 years before falling into disrepair.

Exterior of the Eldridge Street SynagogueExterior of the Eldridge Street Synagogue

Photo: Anne Ruthmann via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Doors at the Eldridge Street synagogue in New York CityDoors at the Eldridge Street synagogue in New York City

Photo: Anne Ruthmann via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

It cost $20 million to bring the Victorian-era synagogue back to its former glory.

Interior dome at Eldridge Street SynagogueInterior dome at Eldridge Street Synagogue

Photo: Anne Ruthmann via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Interior of synagogue at Eldridge StreetInterior of synagogue at Eldridge Street

Interior of the Eldridge Street synagogue in ManhattanInterior of the Eldridge Street synagogue in Manhattan

Photo: Anne Ruthmann via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

In 2010, a new stained glass window was commissioned to complete the interior.

Interior of synagogue at Eldridge StreetInterior of synagogue at Eldridge Street
Detail of Kiki Smith stained glass window at the Eldridge Street SynagogueDetail of Kiki Smith stained glass window at the Eldridge Street Synagogue

Stained glass window at the Eldridge Street SynagogueStained glass window at the Eldridge Street Synagogue

Photo: Peter Aaron

Now known as the Museum of Eldridge Street, the space provides educational tours about the history of Jewish culture in New York City.

Interior of synagogue at Eldridge StreetInterior of synagogue at Eldridge Street
Interior of synagogue at Eldridge StreetInterior of synagogue at Eldridge Street

Museum at Eldridge Street: Website | Facebook | Instagram

My Modern Met granted permission to feature photos by the Museum at Eldridge Street.

Related Articles:

Notre-Dame’s Famed Organ Will Undergo a Four-Year Restoration

France’s Beautiful National Library Reopens After a Decade of Renovations

New York Public Library Unveils Stunning ‘Rose Reading Room’ After Two-Year Renovation

Man Pays $6,000 for a Pair of Damaged Stained Glass Windows That are Actually Worth a Fortune

Similar Posts

  • Casa Haras

    1. How did you land the project and what was the brief? Initially the customers were looking for a house with volumetry that would hide the roofs, but the regulation of the condominium did not allow the use of flat slabs, nor a built-in roof. It would be our first house with apparent roofs. The required needs program and the size of the plot had the exact proportion for what we believed to be ideal for a single-storey house with plenty of open space for outside living, and so we did.
    Haras house came up as a pavilion installation consisting of 3 volumes: two parallels, with NE-SW orientation and a third perpendicular connecting with NW-SE orientation, as an “H”. The idea was based on the desire to have the central leisure area in the other spaces of the house, and with the proposed implantation, we were able to create two outdoor living areas: a main one with a deck and a swimming pool and a secondary area with a spa, a water mirror and a bonfire separated by the perpendicular volume and visually connected by the transparency of the sliding glass doors. 2. What was significant about the site? The land chosen within a stall in the interior of São Paulo, concentrated a number of positive aspects for the design of the project: views, large plot, solar orientation, generous setbacks, high soil permeability, no outside walls. 3. What was the overall design goal? The simple volume and purity of the gable roof in all 3 blocks of the house ended up contributing significantly to the harmony of the whole and to the desired country house aspect, which was further strengthened by the use of natural materials such as the stone coating on the gables of the walls and the use of the wood in the panels of doors and slatted of the facade. 4. What was the color pallet? The project explores in exterior areas the colors of natural materials such as the wood used in the slats of the whole facade of the house, the roof, also wood but with a shade of gray and stone walls. The contrast is quite striking with some internal areas, where the walls and white lining create a neutral and minimalist space. 5. What was particularly challenging? The main challenge of the project was to create a contemporary home using sloped roofs, in a minimalist architecture using natural materials. This challenge sought to coherently insert the project in the place that was built, a condominium in a stable – called “Haras” in Portuguese which gives the name of the house, with an air of farm in the interior of São Paulo- Brazil, a refuge for the tranquility at the weekends. 6. How does this project compare to other projects you have completed? This project differs from others for being a single-story house in a large terrain and with natural landscape around it. The fact that the house is single-story provided a widespread deployment in the land that generated direct relations of all the environments with the outdoor areas landscaped, which increased the sensation of the built space and strengthened the use of the external areas as a continuity of the built environment. 7. Could you please go into detail about a few pieces of furniture,including why these were selected? The pieces of furniture were selected especially for each room, proposing an integrating of the spaces. The sofa in the living room, for example, integrate both spaces, the fireplace and the outside gardens. The mix of materials is certainly a charm in this project. In the dinning room, the wood dinning table signed by the Brazilian designer Theo Egami contrasts with the metal chairs feet by Fernando Jaeger. 8. Could you please go into detail about a few fixtures, including whythese were selected? The lighting is mostly made by points of indirect light, creating a more intimate look in the house. In the social central pavilion, spots were used facing the wood lining, creating a light effect on the wood. Some interesting pieces have been used in specific spaces, such as in the kitchen, hanging with the exposed wiring that run through the wall and ceiling until they reach the bench and lavatory point, where the architects used hydraulic copper pieces to create a luminaire exclusively to the project. 9. What did you intend to impart with the rooms and how are theydifferent from each other? The flat distribution of the house program gives all rooms and environments a sense of continuity beyond the limit built, since all have direct visual relation through glazed sliding doors with more than 1150 m² of free ground and high permeability index of the ground, have secured a generous area for landscaping that embraces the house by the front, side and back indents, and advance through the central core. The differences between the rooms are related to the user, 1 double suite fully integrated with the bathroom, which has a glazed shower facing the bedroom. There are two other similar suites, also with double beds, but to receive guests in the house and finally the children’s room, a suite that has two large beds that can be shared.

  • Timeless Stone Structure Coupled with Wood Warmth to Create a Magical Irish Home

    The traditions of Ireland have been shaped by its rough weather and the rugged seas around it for many centuries. It is this environment that also gave shape to some of the best stone homes that you will ever come across. Created using locally sourced stones and withstanding the rugged coastal winds and keeping out […]

    You’re reading Timeless Stone Structure Coupled with Wood Warmth to Create a Magical Irish Home, originally posted on Decoist. If you enjoyed this post, be sure to follow Decoist on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest.