Beth Hamedrash Hagodol

Not to be confused with Beth Hamedrash Hagadol Anshe Ungarn, "Great House of Study of the People of Hungary", a Lower East Side congregation founded in 1883 by Hungarian Jews[1]. For similarly named synagogues, see Beth Hamedrash Hagodol (disambiguation).

Beth Hamedrash Hagodol
(Norfolk Street Baptist Church)
Hebrew: בֵּית הַמִּדְרָש הַגָּדוֹל
The front and part of the side of a three-story building is visible. The side is mostly hidden by the photographic angle and by a leafless tree. The front shows two rectangular towers, one on each side of a recessed bay. All are clad in tan stucco, which is stained in places. The towers have pointed arched windows on the bottom and square ones on top. The bay has four wooden doors at the bottom and a sign with Hebrew writing on top of them, surmounted by large arched, multi-paned window. Atop the roof of the bay is a small metal Star of David. To the right of the building is a much taller brown rectangular apartment building.
Beth Hamedrash Hagodol façade in 2008,
before the 2017 fire and subsequent demolition
Religion
AffiliationOrthodox Judaism (former)
Ecclesiastical or organizational status
StatusDemolished
Location
Location60–64 Norfolk Street, Lower East Side, Manhattan, New York City, New York
CountryUnited States
Beth Hamedrash Hagodol is located in Lower Manhattan
Beth Hamedrash Hagodol
Location in Lower Manhattan
Geographic coordinates40°43′01″N 73°59′16″W / 40.71706°N 73.98774°W / 40.71706; -73.98774
Architecture
Architect(s)
  • Unknown
  • Schneider & Herter
TypeChurch
StyleGothic Revival
FounderRabbi Abraham Joseph Ash
Date established1852 (as Beth Hamedrash congregation)
Groundbreaking1848
Completed1850; 174 years ago (1850)
DemolishedMay 14, 2017
Specifications
Direction of façadeWest
Capacity1,200
Materials
Beth Hamedrash Hagodol
NRHP reference No.99001438
Added to NRHPNovember 30, 1999
[2][3][4][5][6][7][8]

Beth Hamedrash Hagodol[9][10][11][12] (Hebrew: בֵּית הַמִּדְרָש הַגָּדוֹל, lit. 'Great Study House') is an Orthodox Jewish congregation that for over 120 years was located in a historic building at 60–64 Norfolk Street between Grand and Broome Streets in the Lower East Side neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. It was the first Eastern European congregation founded in New York City and the oldest Russian Jewish Orthodox congregation in the United States.[4]

Founded in 1852 by Rabbi Abraham Joseph Ash as Beth Hamedrash, the congregation split in 1859, with the rabbi and most of the members renaming their congregation Beth Hamedrash Hagodol. The congregation's president and a small number of the members eventually formed the nucleus of Kahal Adath Jeshurun, also known as the Eldridge Street Synagogue.[13][14] Rabbi Jacob Joseph, the first and only Chief Rabbi of New York City, led the congregation from 1888 to 1902.[15] Rabbi Ephraim Oshry, one of the few European Jewish legal decisors to survive the Holocaust, led the congregation from 1952 to 2003.[16]

The congregation's building, a Gothic Revival structure built in 1850 as the Norfolk Street Baptist Church and purchased in 1885, was one of the largest synagogues on the Lower East Side.[14][17] It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.[8] In the late 20th century the congregation dwindled and was unable to maintain the building, which had been damaged by storms. Despite their obtaining funding and grants, the structure was critically endangered.[2][18]

The synagogue was closed in 2007. The congregation, reduced to around 20 regularly attending members, was sharing facilities with a congregation on Henry Street.[19] The Lower East Side Conservancy was trying to raise an estimated $4.5 million for repairs of the building, with the intent of converting it to an educational center.[2][18] In December the leadership of the synagogue under Rabbi Mendel Greenbaum filed a “hardship application” with the Landmarks Preservation Commission seeking permission to demolish the building to make way for a new residential development.[20] This application was withdrawn in March 2013, but the group Friends of the Lower East Side described Beth Hamedrash Hagodol's status as "demolition by neglect".[21] The abandoned synagogue was "largely destroyed" by a "suspicious" three-alarm fire on May 14, 2017.[5][6]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Dunlap2004p22 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b c Taylor (2008).
  3. ^ NRHP State listings: NEW YORK – New York County.
  4. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Mendelson2009pp115-117 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference wpix was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ a b Hobbs, Allegra (May 15, 2017) "'Suspicious' Footage Shows 3 Fleeing Area Near Synagogue That Burned: NYPD" Archived 2017-05-16 at the Wayback Machine DNAinfo
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference NRHPNomination1999s7p1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ a b NRHP Weekly List: 11/29/99-12/03/99.
  9. ^ "Beth Hamedrash Hagodol Designation Report" Archived 2018-02-25 at the Wayback Machine New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (February 28, 1967)
  10. ^ White, Norval; Willensky, Elliot; Leadon, Fran (2010). AIA Guide to New York City (5th ed.). New York: Oxford University Press. p. 107. ISBN 978-0-19538-386-7.
  11. ^ Dunlap, David W. (2004). From Abyssinian to Zion: A Guide to Manhattan's Houses of Worship. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 0-231-12543-7., p.22
  12. ^ or Beth Hamidrash Hagadol, Beth Hamedrash Hagadol, Beth Midrash Hagadol
  13. ^ Cite error: The named reference Marcus1989p337 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  14. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Olitzky1996p251 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  15. ^ Cite error: The named reference Caplan2008p173 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  16. ^ Cite error: The named reference Amateau2003 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  17. ^ Cite error: The named reference NYT18850817 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  18. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Austerlitz2007 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  19. ^ Cite error: The named reference CurrentLocation was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  20. ^ Cite error: The named reference Litvak2013 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  21. ^ Cite error: The named reference Singer2013 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).