First Roumanian-American Congregation
Former synagogue in Manhattan, New York / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The First Roumanian-American Congregation,[11] also known as Congregation Shaarey Shomayim[12] (Hebrew: שַׁעֲרֵי שָׁמַיִם, lit. 'Gates of Heaven'), or the Roumanishe Shul[13] (Yiddish for "Romanian synagogue"), was an Orthodox Jewish congregation at 89–93 Rivington Street on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in New York City. The congregation was organized in 1885[14] by Romanian-Jewish immigrants,[15][16] serving the Lower East Side's large Romanian-Jewish community.[17] The Rivington Street building, erected around 1860, switched between being a church and a synagogue and was extensively remodeled in 1889.[18] The First Roumanian-American congregation purchased it in 1902 and again remodeled it.[3]
First Roumanian-American Congregation | |
---|---|
Religion | |
Affiliation | Orthodox Judaism (former) |
Ecclesiastical or organizational status | |
Status | Closed and demolished (2006) |
Location | |
Location | 89–93 Rivington Street, Lower East Side, Manhattan, New York City, New York |
Country | United States |
Location of the former synagogue in Lower Manhattan | |
Geographic coordinates | 40°43′12″N 73°59′20″W |
Architecture | |
Architect(s) |
|
Type | Synagogue |
Style | |
Date established | 1885 (as a congregation) |
Completed | c. 1860 (164 years ago) |
Demolished | March 3, 2006 |
Specifications | |
Direction of façade | North |
Capacity | 1600–1800 |
Length | 100 feet (30 m)> |
Width | 70 feet (21 m) |
Materials |
|
First Roumanian-American Congregation | |
Area | less than one acre |
NRHP reference No. | 98000239 |
Added to NRHP | March 12, 1998 |
[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10] |
The synagogue became famous as the "Cantor's Carnegie Hall",[19] because of its high ceiling, good acoustics,[20][5] and seating for up to 1,800 people.[7] Yossele Rosenblatt, Moshe Koussevitzky, Zavel Kwartin, Moishe Oysher, Jan Peerce and Richard Tucker were all cantors there.[21] Red Buttons sang in the choir,[5][22][23] George Burns was a member,[24] and Edward G. Robinson had his Bar Mitzvah there.[25] The congregation's membership was in the thousands in the 1940s,[26] but by the early 2000s had declined to around 40, as Jews moved out of the Lower East Side.[27] Though its building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998,[10] the congregation was reluctant to accept outside assistance in maintaining it.[28] In December 2005, water damage was found in the structural beams, and services were moved to the living room of the rabbi's mother.[29] In January 2006, the synagogue's roof collapsed,[23] and the building was demolished two months later.[6]