The Eldridge Street Synagogue opened at 12 Eldridge Street in 1887 as one of the first synagogues erected in the US by Ashkenazi Jews. The structure was designed by architects Peter and Francis William Herter, brothers who received many commissions in the Lower East Side and incorporated Jewish designs, such as the stars of David, in their buildings, mainly tenements. When completed, writers raved about at Moorish Revival style chosen for the building, with its stained-glass windows, hand-stenciled walls, intricate brass fixtures, and 70-foot-high vaulted ceiling.
From its opening through the 1920s, thousands participated in the synagogue’s religious services, with police controlling the huge crowds on Jewish High Holidays. During this time, the synagogue also functioned as a center for acculturation. The synagogue fed the needy, helped residents secure loans, taught newcomers about job and housing opportunities, and helped make arrangements to care for the sick and dying.
For fifty years, the Eldridge Street Synagogue flourished, but membership began to dwindle as the Great Depression hit, immigration quotas were put in place, and as congregants moved to other areas of the city. From the 1930s on, the main sanctuary was used less and less, and by the 1950s, its leaking roof and unsound structure lead to its closing-off. Without the money and resources to maintain the sectuary, the congragation moved downstairs, worshipping in the more intimate house of study (Beth Midrash).
The main sanctuary remained empty for twenty-five years, from 1955 to 1980. In 1986 the not-for-profit Eldridge Street Project was founded to restore the synagogue and renew it with educational and cultural programs.
The Eldridge Street Synagogue was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1996.
On December 2, 2007, after 20 years of renovation work that cost $20 million, the Eldridge Street Project completed the restoration and opened to the public as the Museum at Eldridge Street. The museum offers tours that relate to American Jewish history, the history of the Lower East Side and immigration.
The building continues to function as a synagogue.
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