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For the Locals, By the Locals

Museum At Eldridge Logo 

12 Eldridge Street (between Canal & Division)
New York, NY, 10002
212 219 0888
Museum at Eldridge Street






2 FOR 1 Museum Admission

 

Latest Updates

Museum Hours & Admission:
    Sunday - Thursday from 10am to 5 pm
    Friday from 10am to 3pm

Follow this link to find out what's going on this month at the Museum - CALENDAR

 

Did you Know?


When the Eldridge Street Synagogue first opened in 1887 on New York City's Lower East Side it was the first of its kind. Before that, Jews from Eastern Europe worshipped in modest tenements, storefronts and converted churches. In its heyday (1887-1920), Eldridge Street attracted members from every economic stratum and from all over Eastern Europe. This was in contrast to the smaller neighborhood synagogues, or "shteibele," which drew members from a single province

 

 

About Us

“It was as though the synagogue was held up by strings from heaven,” said Roberta Brandes Gratz, founder of the Museum at Eldridge Street, of her first impression of the synagogue in the early 1980s. Pigeons roosted in the balconies and benches were covered with dust. Gratz and others rallied to save the building. They formed the non-sectarian Eldridge Street Project, pre-cursor to the Museum at Eldridge Street. The synagogue was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1996 and more than $18.5 million was raised to restore it to its original grandeur.

 

The Museum completed the Eldridge Street Synagogue restoration in December 2007, the synagogue’s 120th anniversary. The restoration received nearly every major preservation honor, including the prestigious National Trust for Historic Preservation 2008 Preservation Award. The crowning piece of the Museum’s restoration is a magnificent new stained-glass window by artist Kiki Smith and architect Deborah Gans.

 

Today the Eldridge Street Synagogue is home to the Museum at Eldridge Street, which welcomes people from around the world for tours, school programs, concerts, lectures, festivals and other cultural events. The building also continues to be home to Kahal Adath Jeshurun. This small Orthodox congregation has never missed a Saturday or holiday service in the more than 120 years since the synagogue first opened.