First Roumanian-American Congregation facts for kids
Quick facts for kids First Roumanian-American Congregation |
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Synagogue entrance in 2005, prior to its demolition
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| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Orthodox Judaism (former) |
| Ecclesiastical or organizational status | |
| Status | Closed and demolished (2006) |
| Location | |
| Location | 89–93 Rivington Street, Lower East Side, Manhattan, New York City, New York |
| Country | United States |
| Architecture | |
| Architect(s) |
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| Architectural type | Synagogue |
| Architectural style |
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| Date established | 1885 (as a congregation) |
| Completed | c. 1860 (164 years ago) |
| Demolished | March 3, 2006 |
| Specifications | |
| Direction of façade | North |
| Capacity | 1600–1800 |
| Length | 100 feet (30 m)> |
| Width | 70 feet (21 m) |
| Materials |
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The First Roumanian-American Congregation was a famous Orthodox Jewish synagogue in New York City. It was also known as Congregation Shaarey Shomayim (meaning "Gates of Heaven" in Hebrew) or the Roumanishe Shul (which means "Romanian synagogue" in Yiddish).
This important building was located on Rivington Street in the Lower East Side of Manhattan. It was founded in 1885 by Romanian-Jewish immigrants. The synagogue became very well-known as the "Cantor's Carnegie Hall" because it had amazing sound quality and could hold many people.
Many famous cantors (singers of Jewish religious music) performed there. Even celebrities like George Burns were members, and Edward G. Robinson had his Bar Mitzvah there. The synagogue was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998. Sadly, its roof collapsed in 2006 due to water damage, and the building had to be torn down.
Contents
A Home for Romanian Immigrants
Why Romanian Jews Came to New York
Between 1881 and 1914, about 2 million Jewish people moved to the United States from Europe. Many of them, around 75,000, came from Romania. In Romania, Jewish people faced unfair laws, violence, and were often forced to leave their homes. There was also an economic crisis with bad harvests. These problems led about 30% of all Jews in Romania to move to the United States.
Most of these immigrants settled in New York City, especially in the Lower East Side. They created a "Romanian quarter" in a small area of about fifteen blocks. This area became very crowded, with many people living on each block.
Founding the First Roumanian-American Congregation
The Romanian Jewish immigrants in New York City started the First Roumanian-American Congregation. It was also called Congregation Shaarey Shamoyim. The exact start date is a bit unclear, but it was officially organized in 1885.
The synagogue was first located on Hester Street. Later, it moved to Rivington Street, right in the middle of the "Romanian quarter." It quickly became the main place of worship for the Romanian Jewish community there.
The Rivington Street Building's History
From Church to Synagogue
The building on Rivington Street was first built around 1860 as a Protestant church. It was used by the Second Reformed Presbyterian Church, which served the German immigrant community in the area.
In 1864, a German-Jewish congregation called Shaaray Hashomayim bought the building. They were an Orthodox Jewish group. Even though their Hebrew name was similar to the First Roumanian-American Congregation, they were not related.
By the late 1880s, many German-Jewish families had moved away from the Lower East Side. So, in 1889, Congregation Shaaray Hashomayim sold the building. It was bought by the New York City Church Extension and Missionary Society. This group built or bought churches and Sunday schools in New York City.
Major Changes by a Famous Architect
The Church Extension and Missionary Society hired J. Cleaveland Cady to make big changes to the building. Cady was a very famous church architect in New York at that time. He had designed many important buildings, including parts of the American Museum of Natural History.
The renovations cost about $36,000 (which would be a lot more money today!). Cady gave the building a new look in the Romanesque Revival style. This style often uses reddish-orange brick, which Cady used on this building.
The building was renamed the Allen Street Methodist Episcopal Church. Its new goal was to try and get Jewish immigrants to convert to Christianity. However, this effort was not successful. In 1895, the church's pastor said that very few Jewish people came to their services.
New Beginnings for the Congregation
Buying and Renovating the Building
In 1902, the First Roumanian-American Congregation needed a bigger space. The Romanian-Jewish population in the Lower East Side was growing fast. So, they bought the Rivington Street building from the Church Extension and Missionary Society. The building was valued at $95,000.
The congregation raised money from its members to buy the building. People who gave $10 or more had their names carved on marble slabs in the stairway. $10 was a lot of money back then, about two weeks' pay.
They hired Charles E. Reid to make more big changes, costing $6,000. The building was changed to fit Jewish worship. Christian symbols were removed. A Torah ark (where the Torah scrolls are kept) and a bimah (a platform for reading the Torah) were added.
A Grand Synagogue is Born
The renovations kept some original features, like the horseshoe-shaped balcony and wooden pews. But new steel beams were added to support the ark and bimah. They also added two skylights and extended the balcony.
When finished, the building was about 70 feet wide and 100 feet deep. It could seat between 1,600 and 1,800 people. The synagogue was officially opened in December 1902. It became the largest and only Romanesque-style synagogue in the Lower East Side. It was seen as a beautiful and important building.
A Center for Community and Music
Early Activities and Community Gatherings
By 1903, the synagogue was a very important place on Rivington Street. Because it was so large and well-known, it often hosted big meetings. For example, memorial services were held there for important Jewish leaders like Gustav Gottheil and Theodor Herzl.
The Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America held its annual convention at the synagogue in 1903. About 100 delegates attended. Important decisions were made there, like asking congregations to have English-speaking rabbis.
The synagogue also hosted meetings to protest violence against Jews in Russia in 1905. They even donated $500 to help the victims. In 1913, a large meeting was held there to fight against gangsters in the Lower East Side.
Supporting Romanian-American Jews
The Rivington Street synagogue was also a key place for issues important to Romanian-American Jews. In 1905, it held New York City's only memorial service for John Hay. He was a U.S. Secretary of State who helped oppressed Jews in Romania.
In 1908 and 1916, the synagogue hosted meetings to form a federation of Romanian-American Jewish organizations. At one meeting, they planned to raise $1,000,000 to help oppressed Jews in Romania. They also campaigned for equal rights for them.
The congregation also did a lot of charity work, especially during Passover. By 1905, they were giving out wagons full of matzos (unleavened bread) to poor Jewish families.
Famous Members and Growing Popularity
By 1907–1908, the synagogue had 500 members. Its religious school, the Talmud Torah, had 250 students.
Many people who later became famous were connected to the synagogue. George Burns, a famous comedian, was a member. Edward G. Robinson, a well-known actor born in Bucharest, had his Bar Mitzvah there in 1906. He later joked that he gave the longest Bar Mitzvah speech ever!
In 1911, the First Roumanian-American Congregation celebrated its ten-year anniversary. Important speakers included William Jay Gaynor, who was the Mayor of New York City at the time. By 1919, the congregation had grown to 350 families.
The "Cantor's Carnegie Hall"
The synagogue's main worship area had a very high ceiling. It was known for its "magnificent" acoustics, meaning the sound was amazing. Because of this, it was called "the Cantor's Carnegie Hall." It became a very important place for cantorial music.
Many of the greatest cantors of the 20th century sang there. These included Yossele Rosenblatt, Moshe Koussevitzky, Zavel Kwartin, and Moishe Oysher. Even famous opera singers like Jan Peerce and Richard Tucker sang there before they became well-known.
Having great cantors helped the synagogue financially. Congregations often sold tickets for seats during the High Holy Days. The better the cantor, the more people would come, and the more money the synagogue would make.
Red Buttons, a famous comedian, sang in the choir with Rosenblatt in 1927. He was discovered at age eight by a talent scout who heard him singing near a pickle stand. Buttons sang in the choir for three years.
Moishe Oysher became the synagogue's cantor in 1935. He was known for making cantorial singing popular. The congregation's membership reached its highest point in the 1940s, with thousands of members. Oysher once described the synagogue as "the most orthodox Orthodox synagogue in town."
Rabbi Chaim Porille was the rabbi of the First Roumanian-American Congregation from 1932 to 1962. He was a very respected leader in the Orthodox Jewish community.
Changes to the Building's Look
Over the years, the synagogue building had several updates and changes:
- 1916–1917: Fire escapes were added to the sides of the building.
- 1920s or later: Individual theater-style seats were put in the balcony.
- 1948–1950: The front entrance area was rebuilt. New steel stairs were added, along with light-yellow and blue tinted glass windows.
- 1964: A kitchen was added to the basement for social events.
In the 1990s, the front of the building had a large, arched entrance made of brick and stone. The words "First Roumanian-American Congregation" were carved into the arch. The building had windows on different floors, some of which were originally stained glass. The top floor had eight arched windows.
Inside, the building had a two-story main worship area with balconies. There was also a dining room, a basement kitchen, and bathrooms. The Torah ark and bimah in the sanctuary were very fancy. The ark was decorated with red velvet, and the bimah had a large bronze candelabra.
Decline and Collapse
Fewer Members and Building Problems
Over time, fewer people attended the synagogue. Many Jewish families moved out of the Lower East Side to other parts of New York City. Since the First Roumanian-American was an Orthodox synagogue, members had to live close enough to walk to services on the Sabbath. This made it harder to keep members.
By 1996, the synagogue had only about two dozen members. The main worship area became too expensive to keep up. So, services were moved to a smaller social hall in the basement. As membership dropped, the building started to fall apart.
In 1997, the congregation received a grant to help repair the building. The next year, it got $4,000 for roof repairs. The synagogue building was also listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998.
Rabbi Jacob Spiegel, who had led the congregation for 20 years, passed away in 2001. His youngest son, Rabbi Shmuel Spiegel, took over. Even though they tried hard to attract people, it was difficult to get enough men for a minyan (the ten men needed for a Jewish prayer service). By 2004, the regular membership was around 40 people.
The Roof Collapses
On January 22, 2006, the synagogue's roof suddenly collapsed. It caused a lot of damage to the main worship area. Luckily, no one was hurt.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation said that old religious buildings like the First Roumanian-American Synagogue are "national treasures." They explained that these buildings need help with repairs and funding to be saved.
The main worship area had not been used regularly for over 10 years because it was so hard to maintain. By late 2005, the roof was so leaky that people had to pray with buckets during services, even in the basement. After the roof collapsed, the synagogue's 15 Torah scrolls and historic ark were saved from the ruins.
Because the building was not a National Historic Landmark, it was decided that it had to be torn down. The demolition happened on March 3, 2006. The city said the congregation chose to demolish it, but the congregation said they had no other choice due to the high cost of repairs.
At the time, the Spiegel brothers hoped to rebuild a smaller synagogue. However, by October 2007, all that was left was an empty lot with weeds and broken bricks.
Images for kids
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Synagogue entrance in 2005, prior to its demolition
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First Roumanian-American synagogue building on Rivington Street
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Demolition of the Rivington Street building
See also
In Spanish: Primera congregación rumano-estadounidense para niños
