USA: Start of $1.6M Restoration of Oldest Queens Synagogue

New York. Tifereth Israel Synagogue. Start of Restoration (top), Aron ha-Kodesh (bottom). Photo: NY Landmarks Conservancy

USA: Start of $1.6M Restoration of Oldest Queens (New York) Synagogue

A groundbreaking ceremony was held at Congregation Tifereth Israel, 109-18 54th Avenue in Corona, at 11 am June 22. The landmark 1911 wooden building is a rare survivor of the earliest, vernacular synagogues built in Queens and is the oldest synagogue in the borough, celebrating its 100th anniversary this year.

Click here to see photos on the Landmarks Conservancy Facebook page.

Restoration will remove the present stucco coating and restore the original wood clapboard siding, wood windows and doors, Moorish-style metal domes and finials, and historic paint colors to this important building, returning it to its appearance of a century ago.

The New York Landmarks Conservancy has worked with the synagogue for more than a decade providing $30,000 in direct grants and serving as the project manager. The Conservancy helped the congregation with their selection of preservation architects Li/Saltzman; liaison with City and State funding agencies; selection of construction contractors Lipsky Enterprises, Inc. and LoDuca Associates, Inc.; and will now help the congregation manage and monitor the restoration work.

Queens, New York. Tifereth Israel Synagogue. Start of Restoration, with help from the New York State environmental Protection Fund. Photo: NY Landmarks Conservancy

The synagogue, which has been revitalized in recent years by Bukharan Jwish immigrants, is being restored with $1.1 million in New York City capital funding allocated by Queens Borough President Helen Marshall, augmented by a $200,000 restoration grant from the New York State Environmental Protection Fund.

Queens, New York. Tifereth Israel Synagogue. Start of Restoration. Interior. Photo: NY Landmarks Conservancy

“I am delighted to have supported the restoration of our county’s oldest synagogue. This visible sign of Jewish heritage and tradition is now a century old and both a city and national landmark,” said Marshall. “This milestone birthday in the history of this structure, built in 1911 for a congregation relocated to Queens from the Lower East Side, is, indeed worthy of celebration.”

“Its refurbished exterior and doors will now open to a new generation that will cherish it for many years to come,” she said.

“This synagogue is an important piece of Queens history. We are grateful to the borough president and the other donors who recognize its significance and are helping with its revitalization and restoration,” said Peg Breen, president of The New York Landmarks Conservancy.

An additional $360,000 has been provided by several NYC philanthropists, foundations, and nonprofit organizations:

• The Arlene and Arnold Goldstein Family Foundation, whose founder’s real estate management firm, Samson Management, is based in Rego Park;
• Leonard Lauder, whose mother, Estee Lauder, and maternal grandparents, Max and Rose Mentzer, were early members;
• Sam Domb, hotel developer and Jewish philanthropist;
• The New York Community Trust; and
• The New York Landmarks Conservancy

Pro bono legal services for the project have been provided by the firm of Bryan Cave LLP.

(source: New York Landmarks Conservancy)

Germany: Colloquium on Cologne Jewish Quarter and Synagogue Excavation Results

Cologne, Germany. Detail from early phase of synagogue excavation. Photo: Samuel Gruber (2007).

Cologne, Germany. Medieval mikveh, looking up towards superstructure. Photo: Samuel Gruber (2007).

Germany: Colloquium on Cologne Jewish Quarter and Synagogue Excavation Results
by Samuel D. Gruber

I am very excited to be attending next weeks colloquium in Cologne, Germany, where the results of the recent and extensive excavations of the town hall square will be presented and discussed in detail. I first visited the excavation of the medieval synagogue in 2007 and most recently reported on the remarkable finds from this dig earlier this spring. I am thankful to the City of Cologne for inviting me to attend and participate. Together with the recent excavations in Lorca, Spain, the Cologne excavation is probably the more important work of "Jewish archaeology" of the past decade. Even though the site had been partially excavated in the 1950s, the finds really present an entirely new picture of Jewish history and community in Cologne.

I plan on writing some detailed articles from this meeting after the work is fully presented. In the meantime, here is the working schedule of the event.

Cologne, Germany. Hypothetical reconstruction of facade of ancient synagogue by Sven Schütte, published before recent excavations. Will now surely be modified,

THE EXCAVATIONS ON COLOGNE TOWN HALL SQUARE RESULTS

Colloquium July 6th/7th 2011
Cologne, Historisches Rathaus, Spanischer Bau, Ratssaal

Simultaneous translation in ENGLISH available for the whole congress!

For first Information please visit the English version [press „en“ ]
of our Website:
www.museenkoeln.de/archaeologische-zone

WEDNESDAY 6.7.2011

8.30 am Opening of Congress office - Spanish Building, Court
9.00 am Welcome
Jürgen Roters, Lord Mayor of the City of Cologne
Introduction into the Subject
Prof. Georg Quander, Head of the Department of Culture

SECTION: ANTIQUITY, EARLY MIDDLE AGES AND CONTINUITY

9.30 – 12.00 am
Sven Schütte, The Area in Antiquity
Marko Hocke, An Roman Architectural Model
Christos Vangelzikis, The Roman Thermal and their walls with stamped bricks
Marianne Gechter, the Written Sources from Antiquity to Middle Ages
Sven Schütte/Marianne Gechter, the Question of Continuity
Discussion / Moderation: Ulrich Klein

12.00 – 13.30 Lunch break (Opportunity to visit the Excavations)

SECTION JEWISH HISTORY I

13.30 – 17.30 pm
Marianne Gechter, Written Sources of the Medieval Jewish Community in Cologne
Sven Schütte, The Medieval Area around the Town Hall and it’s Phases
Ulrike Nusch-Schikowski, The different tiled floors of the Synagogue

15.00 pm – 15.30 pm Coffee break
Hubert Berke, Kosher Cuisine and Auerochses – The Archaeozoological research
Sven Schütte, The Infrastructure of the Jewish Quarter
Marianne Gechter, Written Sources for the Topography until 1349
Katja Kliemann, The Ashes of the Pogrom 1349 and their distribution in the Jewish Quarter
(Opportunity to visit the Excavations until 18.30 pm)

19.00 Evening Lecture , Historisches Rathaus, Hansasaal
Ernst Baltrusch, Constantine The Great and the Rescript of 321. Antijewish Predjudice or Religious Tolerance?

THURSDAY 7.7.2011

SECTION JEWISH HISTORY II / THE LATER HISTORY OF THE QUARTER

9.00am – 12.00 noon
Michael Wiehen, Latest Research on the Cologne Mikveh
Katja Kliemann, Ceramics and Stratigraphy – an overview
Elisabeth Hollender, The Epigraphic Finds from the Cologne Synagogue from 1349
Elisabeth Hollender, An Oldjiddish Text from the Cologne Synagogue

Discussion / Moderation: Johannes Heil

10.00am – 10.30 Coffee break

Marianne Gechter, The written Sources 1349 – 1424
Sven Schütte, The medieval Town hall and the Town Councils Chapel
Marianne Gechter, The written sources fort the Cologne Goldsmith’s Quarter
Sven Schütte, Cologne Goldsmith’s Quarter and its buildings
Sven Schütte, An Imperial Earring of the 10th century

Discussion / Moderation: Norbert Nussbaum

12.00 – 13.30 Conclusion /Perspectives
Sven Schütte, Colonia Archaeologica – Archaeological Zone and Jewish Museum – The Concept of the new Museum

Max Polonovski, A Future for the Past? Colognes Jewish Heritage in the 21st century –
Conclusion Discussion / Moderation: Johannes Heil

For Contact please do not hesitate to contact MARTINA HEMMERLING
0049 221 221 33422

USA: Brookhaven Mississippi Synagogue Now a Museum

Brookhaven Mississippi Synagogue Now a Museum
by Samuel D. Gruber

(ISJM) Twenty years ago I had the pleasure of visiting the small but lovely Temple B'nai Sholom in Brookhaven, Mississippi. Even then there were few Jews left in the town to use the synagogue, built in 1896. Still, it was well maintained, and could still serve the community on holidays. But even in 1991 it was clear something would have to be done to save this building and its history for another generation. I wrote about the building on this blog in June 2009, and shortly afterward the synagogue was deconsecrated.

http://samgrubersjewishartmonuments.blogspot.com/2009/06/usa-brookhaven-mississippi-synagogue.html




With just two Jews in town, B'nai Sholom was too much to care for. But the tiny congregation had planned ahead and when the doors closed for worship it was announced that the building was begin donated to the Lincoln County Historical and Genealogical Society to be used as a county history museum, which would include a B'nai Sholom Jewish heritage exhibit, organized by the Institute of Southern Jewish Life. The new museum and exhibition opened March 11, 2011.

According to an article by Rachel Jarman in the current issue (summer 2011) Circa: The Newsletter of the Golring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life , "On the bimah, panels describe the orioginal use of the Temple and explain the various Judaic items still in the sanctuary including the ner tamid, Ten Commandments and menorahs." The exhibit also empahsizes the role Jews played in the town's history. jews came to Brookhaven in the mid-18th century and played an important role in the commerical life of the town. Three Jews have served as mayor of Brookhaven.

For more information about the synagogue and the museum contact Rachal Jarman at (601) 362-6357.

The situation in Brookhaven is not unique. In June 2007 I wrote about the synagogue of Stevens Point, Wisconsin and it restoration as a local history museum. You can read about it here.

USA: 135 Years Ago President U.S. Grant Attended DC Synagogue Dedication

Washington, DC. Program for 1876 dedication of Adas Israel. Photo courtesy of the Jewish Historical Society of Greater Washington.

Washington, DC. Former Adas Israel today . Photo courtesy Julian Preisler.

USA: 135 Years Ago President U.S. Grant Attended DC Synagogue Dedication
by Samuel D. Gruber

On a few previous occasions I have mentioned visits of heads of state to synagogues. One of the most significant such occasions in American history was the visit 135 years ago of President Ulysses S. Grant to the dedication of the new synagogue in the national capital city of Washington, DC. On June 9, 1876, shortly before the nation's centennial, Adas Israel Congregation dedicated its modest building made festive for the occasion with flowers, "festoons of evergreens," and American flags over the Ark.

Adas Israel was established as an traditional (orthodox) congregation in 1869. The synagogue was built at the corner of 6th and G Streets, NW, then part of the city's residential and commercial center, after many years of planning and fundraising. The Jewish Historical Society of Greater Washington, now maintains the former synagogue, which was moved to a different site in 1969, as a museum.

Washington, DC. Adas Israel on the move in December, 1969. Photo by Jim McNamara, from The Washington Post.

I have a special interest in this synagogue and its survival. It was one of the first historic American synagogues - and restoration projects - of which I learned when I first began work as historic preservationist more than 20 years ago. I later had the privilege of contributing to the Historic Structures Report prepared about the building's history, architecture and condition. You can read more about the synagogue here, and follow links for pictures and even more information.

Grant was the first U.S. president to attend synagogue services in the United States. He sat at the front of the sanctuary on a sofa rented especially for the occasion and even donated $10 to the synagogue's building fund, the equivalent of $200 today. The room was filled to capacity and latecomers were turned away.

Nowadays such an appearance - almost anywhere in the world - would not seem unusual. I reported last October about the president of Germany attending the dedication of the new synagogue in Mainz. Grant's participation in the events, however, was unusual, and more than a symbolic courtesy. It marked his reconciliation with the Jewish community and return to the principles of his predecessor George Washington, expressed in his famous lines penned to Moses Seixas of Newport, Rhode Island in 1790, that "All possess alike liberty of conscience and immunities of citizenship. It is now no more that toleration is spoken of, as if it was by the indulgence of one class of people, that another enjoyed the exercise of their inherent natural rights. For happily the Government of the United States, which gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance requires only that they who live under its protection should demean themselves as good citizens, in giving it on all occasions their effectual support."

During the Civil War, Grant had issued General Orders No. 11, violating Washington's sentiment and American tradition, and expelling Jews "as a class" from the areas under his command. Grant subsequently faced charges of anti-Semitism throughout his career.

The three-hour dedication ceremony was covered in several local and national newspapers, including The National Republican, The Jewish Messenger, and the Washington Chronicle. The articles which can be read by clicking the links above provided by the JHSGW, describe the decorations, prayers, and sermon given by visiting Rabbi George Jacobs of Philadelphia's Congregation Beth El Emeth. Reading these contemporary accounts, especially those from the non-Jewish press opens a window in 19th-century American perceptions - and openness - to Judaism and American religious pluralism.