What Was Inside 19th-Century American Synagogues?

Washington, DC.  The first Adas Israel Synagogue. Top: from a 1903 newspaper article. Bottom: as it looks today: Photos: Jewish Historical Society of Greater Washington (JHSGW)

What Was Inside 19th-Century American Synagogues?

by Samuel D. Gruber

I'm working on a project with the Jewish Historical Society of Greater Washington (JHSGW), preparing an Historic Furnishings Report to describe more closely the appearance of the original Congregation Adas Israel synagogue, inaugurated on June 10, 1876 (with President Grant and Vice President Ferry in attendance). A decade ago I participated in the preparation of the Historic Structures Report for the building. We are confident about the main structural and architectural features of the former synagogue, but can never be certain about what was inside and how it as arranged - and things changed.

This has led me back to the recognition of a broader lack of information about 19th-century American synagogue interiors.  With a few notable exceptions, most of these buildings have not been written about in much detail, and when they are described the most attention is focused on their external style (Classical, Gothic, Moorish, etc.).   The best overall account of 19th-century synagogues remains the first chapters of Rachel Wischnitzer's book Synagogue Architecture in the United States. published in 1955 - more than a half century ago.  But Wischnitzer did not focus much on issues such as the types and arrangement of benches and other seating (and  their relation to interior processional routes); the placement of functional, symbolic and ritual lighting; the decoration of windows and wall surfaces; and many more seemingly mundane but everyday arrangements that help define what the life of the synagogue (in addition to its architecture) really is.

New York, NY. Congregation Shearith Israel, 19th St. Bldg (1860), interior view showing procession with Torah scrolls at building dedication. The Sephardi seating arrangement - with a large open space between Ark and Bimah - makes processions easy. Less so, the arrangements in Ashkenazi synagogues.  The placement of benches and location of aisles usually relates to liturgical practice as well as issues of comfort, space and public presentation. Photo: from M. Angel,  Remnant of Israel, originally published in Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper (Sept. 29, 1860).

We can do much more than that.  I'm asking for help in identifying further source material to help better describe the interiors of 19th and early 20th-century American synagogues. As you will read - these can include contemporary photos and drawings, newspaper and newsletter accounts, congregation minutes, congregant memoirs and other recollections. Over the years I have collected a lot of this material for my own use - but now I would like to be more systematic in this compilation, and to use some scholarly "crowd sourcing" to help.

In the past twenty years historic preservation efforts, including many detailed architectural and material studies and research for the preparation of National Register of Historic Places nominations have amassed a large quantity of new informaiton on 19th and early 20th-century American synagogues. Local historical and genealogical societies have expanded and organized picture collections.  But most of this material remains to be collated for comparative and historical study.

Charleston, SC. Brith Shalom Cong., interior (1874).  Installation of Rabbi Gilbert Klaperman in 1948.

From Jeffrey S. Gurock, Orthodoxy in Charleston p44

At the former Adas Israel, much remains uncertain about the furnishings (except the benches); color scheme; lighting and other fittings; as well as ritual items. We have a poor (but still very useful) newspaper photo (above) from 1903 and some non-specific descriptions in newspaper accounts of the dedication.  Surviving congregational minutes are not very helpful, and except for three original benches, original furnishings and ritual items from this first Adas Israel synagogue have not yet been identified. So we need to turn to comparative material, like some of the images shown here, that record near-contemporary synagogues of traditional/Orthodox congregations. 

Alliance, NJ. Eben Ha' Ezer Synagogue and Hall (demolished), Interior July 29, 1888. Yoval 1932, p18 

Alliance, New Jersey.  Tiphereth Israel Synagogue, 1889.  Photo: S Gruber 1987.

Alliance, New Jersey.  Tiphereth Israel Synagogue. Women's gallery, 1889.  Photo: S Gruber 1987.

Woodbine, New Jersey.  Agudas Achim Anshei Cong. (Brotherhood Synagogue). Women's gallery, 1896.  Photo: S Gruber 1987.

Woodbine, New Jersey.  Agudas Achim Anshei Cong. (Brotherhood Synagogue), 1896.  Photo: S Gruber 1987.

Overall, with the exception of a few notable buildings (such as Temple Emanuel, Shearith Israel - both demolished - and Central Synagogue in New York, Mikveh Israel in Philadelphia (demolished), and a small number of others) the specific documentary evidence for 19th-century synagogue interiors is remarkably sparse. Most synagogue interiors were never photographed - or the photos do not survive. Those shown here are the exception, not the rule.  

This was especially true of small synagogues, and those built before the 1920s.  For the synagogues of turn-of-the-century East European Jewish immigrants there are only dozens of known interior views of the hundreds of congregations and chevras that struggled or flourished, but then were gone.  Successful congregations usually moved on to newer buildings and neighborhoods. Unsuccessful congregations just closed their doors.  Sometimes richer congregations sold to poorer ones - and in these cases  when the older buildings have survived or survived longer, more information can be gleaned .

After 1920, interiors of Reform and some Conservative synagogues were photographed more than Orthodox shuls (it was customary to have photos on the bimah for graduation confirmation classes in Reform Temples) - but even these views often only include close-up views of the Ark area.

Contemporary descriptions are hard to come by and need to be pieced together from newspaper accounts in the mainstream local press (often written by non-Jews unfamiliar with specific Jewish items and usage, and often describing a formal occasion; not the everyday appearance) and some in the Jewish press. Most of these have not been indexed (or digitized) and we are lucky when they have been discovered and published by local historians.  Four major Jewish newspapers now appear to be available online through ProQuest - for those libraries that can afford the service.  Some congregations or historical societies do maintain building committee minutes, but these are often very laconic or incomprehensible, and even at best describe items by cost not by appearance.

Philadelphia, PA. B'nai Abraham, 1906. Photo: Dale Lieberman (ISJM Collection)

We rely on all these sources for comparative material as well as investigations of small number of still extant synagogues (Baltimore, Phila. Southern New Jersey, North Carolina, etc) and of synagogal ritual items now in congregational or public museums. For many of the non-liturgical or non-symbolic items we also can look at contemporary church, public building and even domestic interior furnishings and decoration for similar items (benches, lights, chairs, carpets, window shades, balcony rails, etc. etc.).

 Chelsea, Massachusetts.  Walnut Street Shul, 1909.  Photo: Samuel Gruber 1990s.

I am hardly the only one interested in synagogue interiors - and they are being investigated in many ways.  These include complete full scale restorations as at the Eldridge Street  Synagogue and Kehila Kedosha Janina in New York, both of which I have written about in the past, and digital reconstruction of past appearance as for the former Baltimore Hebrew Congregation / Lloyd Street Synagogue, now part of the Jewish Museum of Maryland.   In Indiana, for instance, check out Wendy Fergusson's blog about her efforts in Lignonier at the 1889 Ahavas Sholom Synagogue (more on this later).

Expect to see me posting more in the coming months on synagogue interiors - and some of the problems in understanding what these spaces looked like - and exactly how they were used and understood. 

New Publication: The Synagogues of Greece: A Study of Synagogues in Macedonia and Thrace

New Publication: The Synagogues of Greece: A Study of Synagogues in Macedonia and Thrace

The American Sephardi Federation (ASF) has published and English edition of Elias V. Messinas' study The Synagogues of Greece: A Study of Synagogues in Macedonia and Thrace (ISBN 978-0-8197-0789-5) based on his 1999 doctoral dissertation and subsequent work on documentation and protection of Jewish heritage sites in Greece.

The book provides two main themes.  First, it is detailed history of the the synagogues of northern Greece (Macedonia and Thrace), mostly a legacy of the Ottoman period.  Messinas has dug deep to collect information on all identifiable synagogues, some known only by name.  He traces the history of these institutions and structures and places them in their urban context from the 15th through the 20th centuries - so there is much of value here for student's of Jewish settlement and Jewish quarters.  Almost all of these buildings are gone.  Many were destroyed in the great fire that swept Salonika in 1917.  Those that were rebuilt were destroyed in the Holocaust or in the years following, when the once large Jewish communities of Northern Greece were reduced to tiny numbers.  In the 1990s, Messinas was able to document several extant synagogues - albeit surviving in ruined condition - and document them with measured drawings and photos before they were demolished. 

Messinas was an almost lone voice protesting the demolition of the synagogues of Komitini and Didmoticho, by the Athens- based Greek Jewish community.  He also spear-headed the first phase of restoration of the historic synagogue of Verioia about which he wrote in his first book The Synagogues of Salonika and Veroia , Gavrielides Editions, Athens, Greece (ISBN 960-336-010-4) 158 pages  (1997, reprint 2000).  Some of the earlier material about Veroia and Salonika also appears in this new volume. 

The second theme of the book justifies the title The Synagogues of Greece, since it consists of a valuable portfolio of measured drawings - plans, elevations and section - of synagogues from all of the country, including the Peloponnese and the Islands.  This section is a valuable comparative tool for understanding a modern country's Jewish architectural heritage.  Still, this heritage has to be seen in larger context - some of which Messinas described in his text.   Depending on where they are/were located, Greek synagogues are tied to either Italian or Ottoman traditions, on in some cases to a more ancient Byzantine-Romaniote art and liturgy. Unfortunately, it is still a struggle in Greece to have Greek-Jewish heritage seen as Greek heritage.  The recent designation of the Jewish cemetery of Ioannina as a protected landmark is a good sign. 

Recent published books about synagogues in Turkey and Bulgaria, mostly carried out since Messinas finished much of his research, now allow us to create a well-documented visual (if not an historical) compendium of synagogue architecture of the Ottoman Balkans and Anatolia (related, but somewhat different traditions can be seen in Syria, Egypt and across North Africa).  Many of these photos can be seen in the online archive of the ASF.  I also look forward to future scholars using the new Messinas book in comparative studies of Moroccan and other Sephardi diaspora cultures to trace the legacy of Spanish Jewish culture in later architecture.

This book does not replace the still essential guide and reference by Nikos Stavroulakis and  Timothy J. DeVinney, Jewish Sites & Synagogues of Greece (Talos Press, 1992). The two books are very different and complement each other.  The Stavroulakis book especially can be used with Messinas's drawings.  

The American Sephardi Federation and Sephardi House have done a service in making this text - previously only online in Greek - available to a wider English speaking audience.  It is published as part of a series on the Holocaust in Greece edited by Prof. Steven Bowman.  Indeed, the documentation of this lost culture does bear witness to the destruction of the Holocaust.  But the study is much more than that - as it testifies to the long and deep Jewish roots in modern Greece and to the architectural heritage of Jewish communities which were part of an international culture.

I first met Elias twenty years ago when he was a graduate student just starting this quest.  I was glad to encoruage him at the time and I was happy to provide some modest effort to make this book possible. Elias is now a successful practicing architect, specializing in "Green" design.  He has left his studies of Greek synagogues behind, but this book (and his previous book) allow that is research will remain available and useful to all in the future.

USA: Parkersburg, West Virginia Synagogue to Close

USA: Parkersburg, West Virginia Synagogue to Close

Julian H. Preisler, historian of Jewish West Virginia, refers us to an article in the Parkersburg News and Sentinel (March 16, 2013) that reports that Temple B'nai Israel in Parkersburg will soon sell its building. The congregation, founded in 1909, has become to small to maintain the small Temple, which was built in 1949 in a modern style with roots in pre-War Art Deco and Art Moderne design.  For a picture click here.

According to the article, Robert Beau Ellison, treasurer of  B'nai Israel, said the building will be listed for sale this spring. "We are down to just a very limited number of Jewish families in town who are members of the temple," ...It's not as much a cost issue as it is a people issue. In order to maintain the building and keep everything going, you have to have enough people to do things. We just have limited people to draw from."

The situation at Parkersburg is a familiar one throughout smaller communities, especially in the South and mid-West.  

According to the Temple website "As of 2011, there were 15+ families who were affiliated with the Temple compared to 170 in the 1970's.  While there are other Jews in the area, they have not joined this Temple community.  The future of the Temple building is in question because of the lack of funds to maintain it.  Discussion with the Jewish Legacy Project has begun about what to do when the last member of the Temple leaves the area.  Alternative meeting sites are being reviewed. The heritage and history of this community will be preserved.

Slovakia: Update on Zilina Synagogue Restoration - You Can Help!

 Zilina, Slovakia. Synagogue before restoration. Photo: Samuel D. Gruber 2005

Slovakia: Update on Zilina Synagogue Restoration - You Can Help! 
by Samuel D. Gruber   

Jewish Heritage Europe reports on the progress for the restoration of the important modernist synagogue at Zilina, designed by German architect Peter Behrens.  I wrote about this effort at length when the Jewish Community of Zilina first turned its thoughts to building restoration in 2009. At that time the Jewish Community had regained ownership of the building, which has been used for many years as a cinema and lecture hall, but was uncertain how to proceed with restoration - especially since funds were not available for the work, but meanwhile the building as it stood could provide a modest - but real -  revenue stream.   

 In 2009, I wrote : "the best hope for the Behren's synagogue is to reach outside the normal (Jewish) funding circles and to involve groups dedicated to protecting and preserving the legacy of modernism." This is exactly what has happened (without any involvement by me.

  

 Zilina, Slovakia. Synagogue as it appeared when built. 

In 2011, the Jewish community arranged to lease the building for a symbolic sum to a group of architects and cultural activists of the NGO Truc sphérique which would oversee the restoration of the building and develop it as a cultural center focusing on contemporary art.  Similar solutions have been used in other former synagogues in Slovakia, especially at Samorin and Trencin, both of which function as art centers.  Neither of those projects, however, is as ambitious as at Zilina where plans are to return the modernist icon back to its original form. The chief architect for the project is Martin Jančok. The total costs for the project are estimated a €1 million  - one of the reasons the Jewish Community was reluctant to take on this task.  The organizers have already raised and spent €100,000 in the first phases of work.  Much of this has been raised online through social media and new fund-raising strategies.  

This type of work shows that restoration projects - even when locally-based - can find a much larger audience of support.  The fact that the project combines constituencies engaged in Jewish history, modern architecture and contemporary art is a big advantage as that swells the project audience and donor base and also reaches across nation, religious and generational lines.  Truc sphérique is an artists' cooperative and has relied on volunteer labor for much of the work and has received in-kind contributions from local businesses to move the project forward.

Truc sphérique is non-governmental organization for contemporary arts and culture  founded in 1998 in Zilina, and it has operated the  building of Stanica since 2003 where it runs a gallery, workshop space, residency space for artists, cafe, waiting-room, and a multifunctional presentation venue for theater, dance, concerts, discussions and screenings.  Stanica is member of various European networks, especially Trans Europe Halles. 
  

 Zilina, Slovakia. Synagogue interior before restoration. Photo: Samuel D. Gruber 2005

 Zilina, Slovakia.  Domed ceiling revealed in restoration.  Photo: Natália Zajačiková 2012.

In 2009 I wrote: "Today, most of the interior has been covered over with new walls, partitions and materials. Still, in the main hall – now used for films – one can see some of the original structure, though the dome is entirely obscured. It is hard to know what original elements are still hidden." Already in 2012 there has been great progress in removing later material additions to the building. Photos of the interior show the original domed ceiling and balconies, revealed for the first time in decades. According to the extensive and impressive project website which is reporting progress on a regular basis in reports and project Flickr streams, and also serves as collection point for money donations:

Our main reconstruction aim is to remove the architectonic interventions done during the communism era and bring back the building a look of the original Behrens’s architecture. The reconstruction began at the end of 2011 and will continue till end of 2014. We have been cooperating with the Regional Monuments Board in order to prepare the project documentation. [...]

Recently, the restoration project was presented the 2013 Bauwelt Advancement Award from the German architectural magazine Bauwelt  ta ceremony in Munich in January, 2013