Tag Archives: synagogue

Central Synagogue

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Central Synagogue is, according to the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission, the finest example of Moorish Revival architecture in New York City. The structure, built in 1872, is also the city’s oldest synagogue in continuous use – despite two disastrous fires.

The stunning landmark is on Lexington Avenue at E55th Street; its twin towers with gilded copper onion domes are impossible to miss. The design, by Henry Fernbach, is a copy of the Dohány Street Synagogue in Budapest.

Central Synagogue was damaged by fire in 1886, a mere 14 years after opening, but restored. In 1946 the synagogue underwent modernization – architect Ely Jacques Kahn made significant changes to the windows and interior decorations and lighting.

In 1995 the synagogue embarked on a five-year renovation, including the addition of air conditioning. In August 1998, three days before the air conditioning was to be turned on, a fire destroyed most of the building. The congregation decided to rebuild Central Synagogue in its original, pre-modernization, design, with Hardy Holzman Pfeiffer the architects.

(One-hour guided tours are available every Wednesday at 12:45; reservations not required.)

Central Synagogue Vital Statistics
  • Location: 652 Lexington Avenue at E55th Street
  • Year completed: 1872
  • Architect: Henry Fernbach
  • Style: Moorish Revival
  • New York City Landmark: 1966
  • National Register of Historic Places: 1970
Central Synagogue Suggested Reading

Google Map

Park East Synagogue

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Park East Synagogue is an “especially imaginative” example of the Moorish Revival architecture popular for 19th century synagogues, in the words of New York’s Landmarks Preservation Commission.

“A detailed description of this complicated facade,” said the Commission, “cannot recreate the liveliness and imagination with which the elements are composed. A multitude of readings is possible and each element is used in an original and sometimes surprising context. Elements that have structural roles are used ornamentally and in conjunction with other elements in a unique manner, such as the frequent use of balusters in place of columns or piers in arcades. This inventiveness adds a playful, almost whimsical, note to the profusely ornamented facade which is reminiscent of the character, if not the detail, of Northern Renaissance architecture.”

The report notes that the towers were originally topped by bulbous domes (similar to Central Synagogue).

The building’s inventiveness fit the congregation, which founding Rabbi Bernard Drachman described as a “harmonious combination of Orthodox Judaism and Americanism.”

At the same time, the synagogue was a huge jump for the architects, Ernst Schneider and Henry Herter, whose main work had been tenements in the Lower East Side and Clinton.

Park East Synagogue Vital Statistics
  • Location: 163 E 67th Street between Third and Lexington Avenues
  • Year completed: 1890
  • Architect: Schneider & Herter
  • Floors: 6
  • Style: Moorish Revival
  • New York City Landmark: 1980
  • National Register of Historic Places: 1983
Park East Synagogue Recommended Reading

Google Map

Random: April 2014

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Highlights from photos shot in April, 2014 – but not yet added to a New York neighborhood or specific building gallery.

In this album:
  • Metro theater, Broadway at W 99th Street – go there, see how the neighboring tower facade mimics the theater accent lines.
  • Saint Michael’s R. C. Church, Sunset Park, Brooklyn. I was drawn to the church’s unusual steeple, but on closer examination the doors were more interesting.
  • Belvedere Castle, Central Park. For a change, I decided to frame the shot.
  • The Alexandria apartments, 201 W 72nd Street at Broadway. The cascade of ladders reveals facade repairs in progress.
  • 171 E 77th Street – terra cotta grill detail.
  • French Embassy Cultural Services – the doors of adjoining buildings on Fifth Avenue (975 and 972) next to the Ukrainian Institute.
  • Guggenheim Museum detail.
  • The Capitol Apartments, 12 E 87th Street. The top half of the cornice was removed; the remaining brackets give the roofline a toothed appearance.
  • Park Avenue Synagogue. Beautiful detailing.
  • 67 and 65 E 93rd Street. Notice the “65” in the transom grille.
  • Essex House: the iconic sign on Central Park South is now reflected in One57, the apartment tower two blocks behind (south).
  • The Dorilton: I usually shoot the maidens head on. This time I shot from the side, to bring them closer together – conversational distance.