Eldridge Street Synagogue

Eldridge Street Synagogue
West facade in 2022
Religion
Affiliation	Orthodox Judaism
Ecclesiastical or organizational status	Synagogue
Ownership	Kahal Adath Jeshurun with Anshe Lubz
Status	Active
Location
Location	12 Eldridge Street
Municipality	Manhattan, New York City
State	New York
Country	United States
Location in Lower Manhattan
Geographic coordinates	40°42′53″N 73°59′37″W / 40.71472°N 73.99361°W / 40.71472; -73.99361
Architecture
Architect(s)	Peter Herter Francis William Herter
Type	Moorish Revival
Date established	1852 (congregation)
Groundbreaking	September 1886
Completed	September 4, 1887
Construction cost	$91,907.61 (equivalent to $3,117,000 in 2023)
Specifications
Direction of façade	West (main facade)
Length	79 ft (24 m)
Width	53 ft (16 m)
Site area	60 by 87.5 ft (18.3 by 26.7 m)
Materials	Brick, terracotta
Eldridge Street Synagogue
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. National Historic Landmark
New York State Register of Historic Places
New York City Landmark No. 1107
NRHP reference No.	80002687
NYSRHP No.	06101.000615
NYCL No.	1107
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	March 28, 1980
Designated NHL	June 19, 1996
Designated NYSRHP	June 23, 1980[1]
Designated NYCL	July 8, 1980[2]
[3][4][5]

The Eldridge Street Synagogue is an Orthodox Jewish synagogue at 12 Eldridge Street, in the Chinatown and Lower East Side neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City. Built in 1887 for Congregation Kahal Adath Jeshurun, the synagogue is one of the first erected in the U.S. by Eastern European Jews. The congregation, officially known as Kahal Adath Jeshurun with Anshe Lubz, still owns the synagogue and hosts weekly services there in the 21st century. The Museum at Eldridge Street, founded in 1986 as the Eldridge Street Project, also occupies the synagogue under a long-term lease. The building is a National Historic Landmark and a New York City designated landmark.

The congregation was established in 1852 as Beth Hamedrash and had congregants from across Eastern Europe. It relocated several times and was renamed Kahal Adath Jeshurun after merging with Holkhe Yosher Vizaner in 1886. Kahal Adath Jeshurun acquired a site for a new synagogue on Eldridge Street in 1886, and the building was dedicated on September 4, 1887. The congregation's membership peaked between 1890 and 1915, with up to 800 members, and the congregation merged with Anshe Lubz in 1909. Membership dwindled significantly after the 1920s, as congregants relocated and the Immigration Act of 1924 restricted new immigration. The main sanctuary was closed completely in 1954, and the remaining congregants met in the basement. Preservationists began trying to save the building in the 1970s and stabilized it in the early 1980s. The Eldridge Street Project raised money for a reconstruction of the synagogue, which was completed in 2007.

The synagogue was designed by Peter and Francis William Herter in the Moorish Revival style, with Gothic Revival and Romanesque Revival elements spread throughout the building. The Eldridge Street facade includes a rose window, two stair towers, and arched openings. There is another rose window in the rear and finials on the rooftops. The main and largest space is the sanctuary, which includes two levels of seating, a Torah ark, and a central bimah. The lower level was originally a study hall, which has been converted to galleries. The modern-day museum is focused on history and culture, and a small number of worshippers of continue to hold services there. Over the years, the synagogue has received architectural commentary and has influenced the designs of other local synagogues.