Bialystoker Synagogue

	Bialystoker Synagogue; (Willett Street Methodist Episcopal Church)
	U.S. National Register of Historic Places
	NYC Landmark
	(2013)
Location	7-13 Bialystoker Place; Manhattan, New York City
Coordinates	40°42′56″N 73°59′1″W / 40.71556°N 73.98361°W
Built	1826
Architectural style	Federal Style
NRHP reference No.	72000861
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	April 26, 1972
Designated NYCL	April 19, 1966

Reading the Book of Esther on Purim 2007 at Bialystoker

The Bialystoker Synagogue at 7–11 Bialystoker Place, formerly Willett Street,^[2]^[3]^[4] between Grand and Broome Streets in the Lower East Side neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City is an Orthodox Jewish synagogue. The building was constructed in 1826 as the Willett Street Methodist Episcopal Church; the synagogue purchased the building in 1905.

The synagogue was designated a New York City Landmark in 1966. It is one of only four early-19th century fieldstone religious buildings surviving from the late Federal period in Lower Manhattan,^[2] and is the oldest building used as a synagogue in New York City.^[5]

Congregation

The Bialystoker Synagogue was first organized in 1865 on Manhattan's Lower East Side as the Chevra Anshei Chesed of Bialystok, founded by a group of Jews who came from town of Białystok, at that time located in the Russian Empire, but now in Poland. The congregation was begun in a building on Hester Street, it later moved to Orchard Street, and ultimately to its present location 7–11 Bialystoker Place on the Lower East Side.

In order to accommodate the influx of new immigrants from that area of Poland, in 1905 the congregation merged with congregation Adas Yeshurun, also from Bialystok, and formed the Beit Ha-Knesset Anshei Bialystok (The Bialystoker Synagogue). The newly formed congregation then purchased (and moved into) the Willett Street Methodist Episcopal Church at 7 Willet Street, which was later renamed Bialystoker Place. During the Great Depression a decision was made to beautify the main sanctuary, to provide a sense of hope and inspiration to the community.

Architecture

The fieldstone Methodist Episcopal Church building was built in 1826 with a simple pedimented roof and round arched windows.^[3] The building is made of Manhattan schist from a quarry on nearby Pitt Street. The exterior is marked by three windows over three doors framed with round arches, a low flight of brownstone steps, a low pitched pediment roof with a lunette window and a wooden cornice.

The elaborate Torah Ark is believed to have been carved in Bialystok and shipped to New York.

As the synagogue is home to an Orthodox Jewish congregation, a balcony section was constructed to accommodate female congregants. In the corner of the women's gallery a small hidden door in the wall that leads to a ladder going up to an attic, lit by two windows was constructed. When it was first opened, the building was a rest stop for the Underground Railroad movement; runaway slaves found sanctuary in this attic.

When the air conditioning was updated in the 1990s, an issue arose in the construction of rooftop units because of the building's historical landmark status. Because of these concerns, the cooling units were installed on the side of the building.

Present activity

In 1988, the congregation restored the interior to its original splendor, and the former Hebrew school building that is attached, but had become dilapidated, was renovated and reopened as The Daniel Potkorony Building. The magnificent stained glass windows were recently completely recreated and renewed.

References

Notes

^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
^ ^a ^b New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission; Dolkart, Andrew S.; Postal, Matthew A. (2009). Postal, Matthew A. (ed.). Guide to New York City Landmarks (4th ed.). New York: John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-0-470-28963-1., p. 49
^ ^a ^b White, Norval & Willensky, Elliot (2000). AIA Guide to New York City (4th ed.). New York: Three Rivers Press. ISBN 978-0-8129-3107-5., p. 93
^ Brawarsky, Sandee. "Safe Havens on the Freedom Line" The New York Times (January 19, 2001). Quote:"BIALYSTOKER SYNAGOGUE, landmark structure (built as Willett Street Church), 7–13 Willett Street (renamed Bialystoker Place)..."
^ 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.27

External links

Media related to Bialystoker Synagogue at Wikimedia Commons

[nris-1] "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.

[nycland-2] New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission; Dolkart, Andrew S.; Postal, Matthew A. (2009). Postal, Matthew A. (ed.). Guide to New York City Landmarks (4th ed.). New York: John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-0-470-28963-1., p. 49

[aia-3] White, Norval & Willensky, Elliot (2000). AIA Guide to New York City (4th ed.). New York: Three Rivers Press. ISBN 978-0-8129-3107-5., p. 93

[4] Brawarsky, Sandee. "Safe Havens on the Freedom Line" The New York Times (January 19, 2001). Quote:"BIALYSTOKER SYNAGOGUE, landmark structure (built as Willett Street Church), 7–13 Willett Street (renamed Bialystoker Place)..."

[fromattoz-5] 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.27

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v t e Underground Railroad
People	William Brinkley John Brown Owen Brown Samuel Burris Levi Coffin Richard Dillingham Frederick Douglass Calvin Fairbank Isaac S. Flint Thomas Garrett Frances Harper Laura Smith Haviland David Hudson Daniel Hughes Peg Leg Joe William Cooper Nell Harriet Forten Purvis Robert Purvis John Rankin Hetty Reckless Gerrit Smith William Still Calvin Ellis Stowe Harriet Beecher Stowe Charles Turner Torrey Harriet Tubman Delia Webster
Places	List of Underground Railroad sites houses churches Underground Railroad in Indiana British Methodist Episcopal Church, Salem Chapel
Events	Emeline and Samuel Hawkins flight (1845) Pearl incident (1848) Kentucky raid in Cass County (1847) The South Bend Fugitive Slave Case (1849) Christiana Riot (1851) Jerry Rescue (1851) Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852 book) Joshua Glover rescue (1854) Dred: A Tale of the Great Dismal Swamp (1856 book) Dover Eight (1857) Oberlin–Wellington Rescue (1858) Tilly Escape (1856) Ann Maria Jackson and her seven children (1859) Thirteenth Amendment (1865)
Topics	Abolitionism in the United States Abolitionism opponents of slavery African-American opponents publications Fugitive slaves Fugitive slave laws 1850 Quilts Reverse Underground Railroad Signals lawn jockey Slave catcher Songs of the Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad Records (1872 book)
Related	National Underground Railroad Freedom Center Harriet Tubman Memorial (Boston) Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historical Park Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad State Park visitor center Niagara Falls Underground Railroad Heritage Center Underground Railroad Bicycle Route The Railroad to Freedom: A Story of the Civil War (1932 book) A Woman Called Moses (1978 miniseries) Roots of Resistance (1989 documentary) The Quest for Freedom (1992 film) Freedom: The Underground Railroad (2013 board game) The North Star (2016 film) Underground (2016 TV series) Harriet (2019 film) The Underground Railroad (2021 miniseries)
See also: Slavery in the United States and Slavery in Canada

Congregation

Architecture

Present activity

See also

References

External links