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Beth Hamedrash Hagodol

1852 establishments in New York (state)Buildings and structures demolished in 2019Churches completed in 1850Demolished buildings and structures in ManhattanFormer New York City Designated Landmarks
Former churches in New York CityFormer synagogues in New York (state)Gothic Revival architecture in New York CityGothic Revival synagoguesLower East SideNew York City Designated Landmarks in ManhattanOrthodox synagogues in New York CityProperties of religious function on the National Register of Historic Places in ManhattanReligious organizations established in 1852Russian-Jewish culture in New York CitySynagogues completed in 1885Synagogues in ManhattanSynagogues on the National Register of Historic Places in New York CityUkrainian-Jewish culture in New York City
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Beth Hamedrash Hagodol WTM sheila 0015 crop

Beth Hamedrash Hagodol (Hebrew: בֵּית הַמִּדְרָש הַגָּדוֹל, "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.Founded in 1852 by Rabbi Abraham 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. Rabbi Jacob Joseph, the first and only Chief Rabbi of New York City, led the congregation from 1888 to 1902. Rabbi Ephraim Oshry, one of the few European Jewish legal decisors to survive the Holocaust, led the congregation from 1952 to 2003.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. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999. 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.The synagogue was closed in 2007. The congregation, reduced to around 20 regularly attending members, was sharing facilities with a congregation on Henry Street. 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. 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. 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". The abandoned synagogue was "largely destroyed" by a "suspicious" three-alarm fire on May 14, 2017.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Beth Hamedrash Hagodol (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Beth Hamedrash Hagodol
Norfolk Street, New York Manhattan

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Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 40.71706 ° E -73.98774 °
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Hong Ning Housing

Norfolk Street
10002 New York, Manhattan
New York, United States
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