THE SYNAGOGUE ON OLD BROADWAY CIRCA 1940

Harlem Bespoke:  Below is one of the post we had up about the neighborhood from over a decade ago and we just recently found an archival government 1940s photo of the historic West Harlem synagogue in Manhattanville that has seldom been seen.  Oddly enough, the more massive Jewish houses of worship in the neighborhood eventually became churches about century ago and this little temple founded in 1911 is the only one that has endured when the community moved elsewhere. For more on the Jewish history of Harlem, check out one of our original Harlem history post: LINK

We always marveled at the beauty of the Old Broadway Synagogue just north of 125th Street for its stained glass window on the eastward section of Manhattanville. Although modest, the temple is probably one of the last continuously running synagogues from Harlem's former Jewish population. On the official blog, there is a photo of what the building windows look like from 1960 until 2003-which was basically cinder blocks and metal screens. In 2003 a generous grant from the New York Landmarks Conservancy and the Upper Manhattan Historic Preservation Fund helped the congregation restore what was left of the original windows and they now let in the natural light into the century old establishment. Check out the Old Broadway Synogogue blog for more information and also a peek at what the building looked like beforehand: LINK. 

HarlemBespoke.com 2021