The First Roumanian-American congregation, also known as Congregation Shaarey Shamoyim, or the Roumanishe Shul, (Yiddish for "Romanian synagogue") is an Orthodox Jewish congregation which was housed for over 100 years in a historic building at 89–93 Rivington Street on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, New York. Those who organized the congregation in 1885 were part of a substantial wave of Romanian-Jewish immigrants, most of whom settled in the Lower East Side.

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  • The First Roumanian-American congregation, also known as Congregation Shaarey Shamoyim, or the Roumanishe Shul, (Yiddish for "Romanian synagogue") is an Orthodox Jewish congregation which was housed for over 100 years in a historic building at 89–93 Rivington Street on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, New York. Those who organized the congregation in 1885 were part of a substantial wave of Romanian-Jewish immigrants, most of whom settled in the Lower East Side. In 1902 they purchased the Rivington Street property, which had previously been a church, then a synagogue, and then a church again, and which had been extensively remodeled in 1889. After the purchase in 1902, it was again remodeled. The synagogue became famous as the "Cantor's Carnegie Hall", because of its high ceiling, good acoustics, and seating for up to 1,800 people. Yossele Rosenblatt, Moshe Koussevitzky, Zavel Kwartin, Moishe Oysher, Jan Peerce and Richard Tucker were all cantors there. Red Buttons sang in the choir, George Burns was a member, and Edward G. Robinson had his Bar Mitzvah there. The congregation's membership was in the thousands in the 1940s, but by the early 2000s had declined to around 40, as Jews moved out of the Lower East Side. Though its building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998, the congregation was reluctant to accept outside assistance in maintaining it. In December 2005, water damage was found in the structural beams, and services were moved to the living room of the rabbi's mother. In January 2006, the synagogue's roof collapsed, and the building was demolished two months later.
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dbpprop:alt
  • The top of an arched reddish-brick entrance-way is visible. Carved into stones on the top row of the arch are the words "First Roumanian-American Congregation", all in capital letters. The arch surmounts a brown wall with a bronze Star of David on it, with a lamp hanging from the arch in front of it. Underneath the brown wall, and above the doors, are inscribed the words "Shaarey Shamoyim" in Hebrew.
dbpprop:architect
dbpprop:architectureStyle
dbpprop:buildingName
  • First Roumanian-American congregation
dbpprop:capacity
  • 1600–1800
dbpprop:facadeDirection
  • North
dbpprop:latitude
  • 40.72 (xsd:double)
dbpprop:leadership
  • Rabbi: Shmuel Spiegel. Assistant Rabbi: Ari Spiegel. President: Gershon Spiegel.
dbpprop:length
  • 100 feet
dbpprop:location
  • 89–93
dbpprop:longitude
  • -73.9888 (xsd:double)
dbpprop:materials
  • Foundation: Stone
    Walls: Brick
    Roof: Asphalt Dolkart (1997), p. 2.
dbpprop:nrhp
  • yes
dbpprop:reference
dbpprop:refnum
  • 98000239 (xsd:integer)
dbpprop:religiousAffiliation
dbpprop:width
  • 70 feet
dbpprop:wikiPageUsesTemplate
dbpprop:yearCompleted
  • c. 1860
georss:point
  • 40.72 -73.9888
rdfs:comment
  • The First Roumanian-American congregation, also known as Congregation Shaarey Shamoyim, or the Roumanishe Shul, (Yiddish for "Romanian synagogue") is an Orthodox Jewish congregation which was housed for over 100 years in a historic building at 89–93 Rivington Street on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, New York. Those who organized the congregation in 1885 were part of a substantial wave of Romanian-Jewish immigrants, most of whom settled in the Lower East Side.
rdfs:label
  • First Roumanian-American congregation
geo:lat
  • 40.720001 (xsd:float)
geo:long
  • -73.988800 (xsd:float)
skos:subject
foaf:depiction
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