Museum at Eldridge Street

1887 - present

Founded in 1887, the Eldridge Street Synagogue was the first synagogue in the United States built from the ground up by Eastern European Jewish immigrants. Prior to its construction, synagogues for immigrant communities were typically adapted from other structures. For more than fifty years, the synagogue served as a vital spiritual and communal hub for Jewish immigrants living on the Lower East Side. However, the synagogue’s membership began to decline in the 1920s, when the Jewish population of the Lower East Side gradually relocated to Brooklyn, the Bronx, and other areas of the city. These changes were further compounded by the passage of the Immigration Act of 1924 and the economic devastation of the Great Depression. By the 1940s, the main sanctuary had fallen into serious disrepair and the congregation was forced to close up most of the building and its 700-seat grand sanctuary. A small group of the congregation still held services in a small chapel at street level, which originally served as the congregation's bes medrash (study room). The building was rediscovered in the 1970s and in 1996, it was designated a National Historic Landmark. That same year, the non-profit Eldridge Street Project (now the Museum at Eldridge Street) began a two-decade-long restoration effort, supported by both public and private funding. The restoration was completed in December 2007, and the building reopened as the Museum at Eldridge Street. While it no longer functions as an active synagogue, the Museum now serves as a cultural and educational center that honors the history of Jewish immigration in New York City. It offers school programs, public tours, lectures, concerts, and other events that celebrate the neighborhood’s immigrant past.

synagogue
Synagogue at Eldridge Street
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Details

Categories
Faith-based institution, Museum, Organization/Association
Audience
All Ages
Founder(s)
Roberta Brandes Gratz
Corporate Body
Museum at Eldridge Street, Inc
Tags
Historiclandmarks, Immigration, Jewish

Location

  • 12 Eldridge St, New York, NY 10002, USA
    ? - ?

References

  1. Museum at Eldridge Street. “About The History of Museum at Eldridge Street,” accessed April 25, 2025, https://www.eldridgestreet.org/history.
  2. Salamon, Julie. "EVOLUTION: FROM THE BRINK OF DEATH TO LIFE OVERFLOWING." New York Times (1923-), Mar 30, 2005. http://ezproxy.cul.columbia.edu/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/evolution/docview/92877450/se-2.
  3. "Return of a Long-Dormant Island of Grace." New York Times (1923-), Dec 01, 2007. http://ezproxy.cul.columbia.edu/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/return-long-dormant-island-grace/docview/848137988/se-2.
  4. Diner, Hasia R. Lower East Side Memories A Jewish Place in America. Princeton University Press, 2002.
  5. Polland, Annie. Landmark of the Spirit : The Eldridge Street Synagogue. Yale University Press, 2008.
  6. Wolfe, Gerard R. The Synagogues of New York’s Lower East Side: A Retrospective and Contemporary View. Fordham University Press, 2013.