View source for First Roumanian-American Congregation

{{Short description|Former synagogue in Manhattan, New York}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2023}}
{{Featured article}}
{{Infobox religious building
| building_name         = First Roumanian-American Congregation
| native_name           = {{langx|he|שַׁעֲרֵי שָׁמַיִם||Gates of Heaven}}
| image                 = First Roumanian-American arch.jpg|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.
| image_upright         = 1.4
| caption               = Synagogue entrance in 2005, prior to its demolition
| map_type              = Lower Manhattan
| map_size              = 250
| map_relief            = 1
| map_caption           = Location of the former synagogue in [[Lower Manhattan]]
| location              = 89–93 [[Rivington Street]], [[Lower East Side, Manhattan]], [[New York City]], [[New York (state)|New York]]
| geo                   = {{coord|40|43|12|N|73|59|20|W|region:US-NY_type:landmark|display=inline,title}}
| country               = United States
| religious_affiliation = [[Orthodox Judaism]] (former)
| status                = {{ubl|[[Church (building)|Church]] {{small|(1860)}}|[[Synagogue]]|Church|Synagogue {{small|(1902{{spaced endash}}2006)}}}}
| functional_status     = '''Closed''' and demolished {{small|(2006)}}
| leadership            =
| website               =
| architect             = {{unbulleted list|{{nowrap|[[J. Cleaveland Cady|J.C. Cady]] & Co. et al}}|Charles E. Reid}}
| architecture_type     = Synagogue
| architecture_style    = {{ubl|[[Romanesque Revival architecture|Romanesque Revival]]|[[Byzantine Revival architecture|Byzantine Revival]]}}
| facade_direction      = North
| groundbreaking        =
| established           = 1885 {{small|(as a congregation)}}
| year_completed        = {{nowrap|{{circa|1860}} ({{time ago|1860}})}}
| construction_cost     =
| date_demolished       = March 3, 2006
| capacity              = 1600–1800
| length                = {{convert|100|ft|m}}>
| width                 = {{convert|70|ft|m}}
| width_nave            =
| height_max            =
| spire_quantity        =
| spire_height          =
| materials             = {{unbulleted list|Foundation: stone|Walls: brick|Roof: asphalt}}
| module                = {{Infobox NRHP
| embed        = yes
| name         = First Roumanian-American Congregation
| nrhp_type    = 
| added        = March 12, 1998
| area         = less than one acre
| refnum       = 98000239
}}
| footnotes             = <ref name=NRHPstate4>[[#refNRHPstate4|NRHP State listings: NEW YORK – New York County]].</ref><ref name=Dolkart1997p7>[[#refDolkart1997|Dolkart (1997)]], p.&nbsp;7.</ref><ref name=Dolkart1997s8p5/><ref name=BuildingConstructed/><ref name=Epstein2007p183/><ref name=Lueck20060307/><ref name=BuildingCapacity/><ref name=Mark20060310/><ref name=Dolkart1997p2>[[#refDolkart1997|Dolkart (1997)]], p.&nbsp;2.</ref><ref name=NRHP980312/>
}}
The '''First Roumanian-American Congregation''',<ref>or First American-Roumanian congregation, First Rumanian-American Congregation</ref> also known as '''Congregation Shaarey Shomayim'''<ref>or Congregation Shaarey Shomoyim, Congregation Shaarai Shamoyim, Congregation Shaarai Shamoyim</ref> ({{langx|he|שַׁעֲרֵי שָׁמַיִם||Gates of Heaven}}), or the '''Roumanishe Shul'''<ref>or Roumaniashe Shul, Rumanische shul</ref> ([[Yiddish language|Yiddish]] for "Romanian synagogue"), was an [[Orthodox Judaism|Orthodox Jewish]] congregation at 89–93 [[Rivington Street]] on the [[Lower East Side]] of [[Manhattan]] in [[New York City]]. The congregation was organized in 1885<ref name=Founded1885/> by [[History of the Jews in Romania|Romanian-Jewish]] immigrants,<ref name=Epstein2007p182/><ref name=Dolkart1997s8p4/> serving the Lower East Side's large Romanian-Jewish community.<ref name=Jones2005p3/> The Rivington Street building, erected around 1860, switched between being a church and a [[synagogue]] and was extensively remodeled in 1889.<ref name="Dolkart1997s8pp1-2"/> The First Roumanian-American congregation purchased it in 1902 and again remodeled it.<ref name=Dolkart1997s8p5/>

The synagogue became famous as the "Cantor's [[Carnegie Hall]]",<ref name=CantorsCarnegieHall/> because of its high ceiling, good acoustics,<ref name=Barry2006/><ref name=Epstein2007p183/> and seating for up to 1,800 people.<ref name=BuildingCapacity/> [[Yossele Rosenblatt]], [[Moshe Koussevitzky]], [[Zavel Kwartin]], [[Moishe Oysher]], [[Jan Peerce]] and [[Richard Tucker (tenor)|Richard Tucker]] were all [[hazzan|cantors]] there.<ref name=Cantors/> [[Red Buttons]] sang in the choir,<ref name=Epstein2007p183/><ref name=Jacobs1996/><ref name=Moynihan2006/> [[George Burns]] was a member,<ref name=GeorgeBurns/> and [[Edward G. Robinson]] had his [[Bar and Bat Mitzvah|Bar Mitzvah]] there.<ref name=Epstein2007p249/> The congregation's membership was in the thousands in the 1940s,<ref name="Vitullo-Martin2006"/> but by the early 2000s had declined to around 40, as Jews moved out of the Lower East Side.<ref name=Bastable2004/> Though its building was listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]] in 1998,<ref name=NRHP980312/> the congregation was reluctant to accept outside assistance in maintaining it.<ref name=Mark20060210/> In December 2005, water damage was found in the structural beams, and services were moved to the living room of the rabbi's mother.<ref name=Spitz2006/> In January 2006, the synagogue's roof collapsed,<ref name=Moynihan2006/> and the building was demolished two months later.<ref name=Lueck20060307/>

==Origins==

===First Roumanian-American/Congregation Shaarey Shamoyim===
From 1881 through 1914, approximately 2&nbsp;million Jews immigrated to the United States from Europe. An estimated three-quarters of them settled in New York City, primarily on the Lower East Side of Manhattan.<ref>[[#refDolkart1997|Dolkart (1997)]], Section 8, p.&nbsp;3, citing [[#refBinderReimers1995|Binder & Reimers (1995)]], p.&nbsp;114.</ref> Over 75,000 of these immigrants were from Romania, where Jews faced antisemitic laws, violence and expulsion. These hardships, combined with an economic depression influenced by low crop yields, resulted in 30 percent of the Jews in Romania emigrating to the United States.<ref name="Dolkart1997s8pp3-4">[[#refDolkart1997|Dolkart (1997)]], Section 8, pp.&nbsp;3–4.</ref>

Romanian Jewish immigrants in New York City gravitated to a fifteen-block area bounded by [[Allen Street (Manhattan)|Allen]], [[Ludlow Street|Ludlow]], [[Houston Street (Manhattan)|Houston]] and [[Grand Street (Manhattan)|Grand]] streets. This "Romanian quarter" became the most densely populated part of the Lower East Side, with 1,500 to 1,800 people per block.<ref name=Jones2005p3>[[#refJones2005|Jones (2005)]], p.&nbsp;3.</ref> These immigrants founded the First Roumanian-American congregation, also known as Congregation Shaarey Shamoyim.<ref name=Epstein2007p182>[[#refEpstein2007|Epstein (2007)]], p.&nbsp;182.</ref>

The origins of the congregation are disputed;<ref name=Diner2000p125>[[#refDiner2000|Diner, Shandler, Wenger (2000)]], p.&nbsp;125. "The synagogue is the First Roumanian-American Congregation, whose congregational origins remain in dispute, but whose physical presence is undeniable."</ref> its establishment in 1885<ref name=Founded1885/> may have been a re-organization of a congregation founded in 1860.<ref name=Founded1860/> Located initially close to the Romanian quarter at 70 [[Hester Street (Manhattan)|Hester Street]],<ref name=70HesterStreet/> and later situated at the heart of it with the move to Rivington Street, the synagogue was the preferred house of worship for the quarter's inhabitants.<ref name=Jones2005p3/>

===Rivington Street building===
The Rivington Street building was constructed as a [[Protestantism|Protestant]] church around 1860<ref name=BuildingConstructed/> by the Second Reformed Presbyterian Church,<ref name=Dolkart1997s8p1>[[#refDolkart1997|Dolkart (1997)]], Section 8, p.&nbsp;1.</ref> which served the area's large German immigrant community. In November 1864 the building was sold to the Orthodox [[History of the Jews in Germany|German-Jewish]] Congregation Shaaray Hashomayim ("Gates of the Heavens"), which had been founded in 1841.<ref name=Dolkart1997s8p1/> Though its Hebrew name was essentially the same as that used by the First Roumanian-American congregation—Congregation Shaarey Shamoyim—which later purchased the building in 1902, the two congregations were unrelated.<ref name=Dolkart1997s8p7>[[#refDolkart1997|Dolkart (1997)]], Section 8, p.&nbsp;7.</ref>

By the late 1880s, the German-Jewish community had mostly moved from the Lower East Side. In 1889, Congregation Shaaray Hashomayim moved to 216 East 15th Street, near [[Second Avenue (Manhattan)|Second Avenue]], selling the Rivington Street building to the [[New York City Church Extension and Missionary Society]] of the [[Methodist Episcopal Church]], which built or purchased churches, [[Mission (Christian)|missions]], and [[Sunday school]]s in New York City.<ref name="Dolkart1997s8pp1-2">[[#refDolkart1997|Dolkart (1997)]], Section 8, pp. 1–2.</ref>

The Church Extension and Missionary Society engaged [[J. Cleaveland Cady]] to design major alterations to the structure. Cady was, at the time, New York's most famous church architect, and had designed many other public institutional buildings, including university buildings, hospitals and museums. His work included the original [[Metropolitan Opera]] building (since demolished), the [[Richardsonian Romanesque]] West 78th Street wing of the [[American Museum of Natural History]], and several other buildings for the Church Extension and Missionary Society. The renovations cost approximately $36,000 (today ${{formatnum:{{inflation|US|36000|1889|r=-3}}}}), and included an entirely new [[Romanesque Revival architecture|Romanesque Revival]] facade in the reddish-orange brick that Cady also used on several other churches.<ref name="Dolkart1997s8pp2-3">[[#refDolkart1997|Dolkart (1997)]], Section 8, pp. 2–3.</ref>

Renamed the Allen Street Methodist Episcopal Church (or Allen Street Memorial Church), the Rivington Street building's new purpose was to "[[conversion to Christianity|attract Jewish immigrants seeking conversion]]".<ref name="Dolkart1997s8pp2-3"/> It was, however, unsuccessful in this endeavor.<ref name=ConversionUnsuccessful/> In 1895, the church's [[pastor]] stated, "The existence of the church here attracts few. Our audiences are small, and contain almost no Jews."<ref>[[#refDolkart1997|Dolkart (1997)]], Section 8, p.&nbsp;3, citing the ''Report of the New York City Church Extension and Missionary Society'' (1895), p.&nbsp;29.</ref>

==Purchase and renovation by First Roumanian-American==
In 1902, the First Roumanian-American congregation/Congregation Shaarey Shamoyim purchased the Rivington Street building from the Church Extension and Missionary Society<ref name=BuildingPurchased/> to satisfy a need for a larger building to serve the Lower East Side's rapidly growing Romanian-Jewish population.<ref name=Dolkart1997s8p4>[[#refDolkart1997|Dolkart (1997)]], Section 8, p.&nbsp;4.</ref> At the time, the property was valued at $95,000 (today ${{formatprice|{{inflation|US|95000|1902|r=-4}}}}).<ref name=NYT19020426>[[#refNYT19020426|''The New York Times'', April 26, 1902]], p.&nbsp;14.</ref> The funds for the purchase were raised from the members of the congregation, and to honor those contributing $10 or more, names were engraved on one of four marble slabs in the stairway to the main sanctuary. The most generous gift was $500, at a time when $10 was two weeks' pay.<ref name=Bastable2004>[[#refBastable2004|Bastable (2004)]].</ref> The congregation also took out two mortgages; one for $50,000 (today ${{formatprice|{{inflation|US|50000|1902|r=-4}}}}) with the Title Insurance Company, and a second for $30,000 (today ${{formatnum:{{inflation|US|30000|1902|r=-4}}}}) with the Church Extension and Missionary Society.<ref name=NYT19020426/>

The congregation commissioned Charles E. Reid for extensive renovations,<ref name=Dolkart1997s8p4/> at a cost of $6,000 (today ${{formatnum:{{inflation|US|6000|1902|r=-3}}}}).<ref name=NYT19020622>[[#refNYT19020622|''The New York Times'', June 22, 1902]], p.&nbsp;19.</ref> The "eclectic [[Neo-Byzantine architecture|Byzantine]]"<ref name=Dolkart1997s8p5>[[#refDolkart1997|Dolkart (1997)]], Section 8, p.&nbsp;5.</ref> remodeling involved converting it for Jewish use by removing Christian symbols and adding a [[Torah ark]] and ''[[Bema#Judaism|bimah]]'' (central platform from which the [[Torah]] is read) at the sanctuary's north end.<ref name=Dolkart1997s8p4/> The renovations retained the original "horseshoe-shaped gallery supported by twelve [[Ionic order|Ionic columns]]" and wooden [[pew]]s with reading shelves (likely from the 1889 Cady renovation),<ref name=Dolkart1997s8p4/><ref name=Dolkart1997s7p3>[[#refDolkart1997|Dolkart (1997)]], Section 7, p.&nbsp;3.</ref> but a number of structural changes were made.<ref name=Dolkart1997s8p4/> Steel beams were added to support the weight of the ark and ''bimah'', the rear wall was re-built and the gallery extended to meet it, two [[Daylighting (architecture)#Skylights|skylights]] were added (a concave [[stained glass]] one and a clear glass one over the ark), and at the front of the building, on top of the shallow (14 feet deep) fourth-story attic, an equally shallow fifth-story attic was added.<ref name=Dolkart1997s8p4/><ref name=Dolkart1997s7p2/>

The completed structure filled almost the entire width<ref name=Dolkart1997s8p5/> of its approximately {{convert|70|ft|m|adj=mid|-wide}} by {{convert|100|ft|m|adj=mid|-deep}} lot,<ref name=Mark20060310>[[#refMark20060310|Mark (March 10, 2006)]].</ref><ref name=Dolkart1997s7p1>[[#refDolkart1997|Dolkart (1997)]], Section 7, p.&nbsp;1.</ref> and seated 1,600 to 1,800.<ref name=BuildingCapacity/> Dedicated in late December 1902,<ref name=DedicationDate/> it was the Lower East Side's largest synagogue<ref name=Epstein2007p183>[[#refEpstein2007|Epstein (2007)]], p.&nbsp;183</ref> and only Romanesque one,<ref name=Gelfand1992>[[#refGelfand1992|Gelfand (1992)]].</ref> and it became an "architectural and public showpiece".<ref name=Joselit1990p5>[[#refWeissmanJoselit1990|Weissman Joselit (1990)]], p.&nbsp;5.</ref>

==Early activities==
By 1903 the synagogue was well established on Rivington Street, and, due to its capacity and prominence, was often the site of significant or [[mass meeting]]s. In April 1903 a service to honor the memory of [[Reform Judaism|Reform]] [[rabbi]] and [[Zionism|Zionist]] leader [[Gustav Gottheil]] was held there,<ref name=NYT19030429>[[#refNYT19030429|''The New York Times'', April 29, 1903]], p.&nbsp;9.</ref> and a similar service was held for [[Theodor Herzl]] the following year. At the latter service, which was boycotted by Orthodox rabbis, Herzl was not eulogized, nor was his name mentioned.<ref name=NYT19040708>[[#refNYT19040708|''The New York Times'', July 8, 1904]], p.&nbsp;9.</ref>

The [[Orthodox Union|Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America]] (UOJCA) held its third annual convention at the synagogue in June 1903, attended by around 100 delegates, and presided over by the organization's president, Rabbi [[Henry Pereira Mendes]]. The most important resolutions adopted at that meeting were one that deprecated the granting of a ''[[Get (divorce document)|get]]'' (religious divorce document) to—or allowing subsequent re-marriage by—people who had not first obtained a civil divorce, and the request that congregations with mostly foreign-born members "secure an English-speaking rabbi".<ref name=NYT19030622>[[#refNYT19030622|''The New York Times'', June 22, 1903]], p.&nbsp;12.</ref> At the meeting [[Albert Lucas (Jewish activist)|Albert Lucas]] also spoke out strongly against attempts by Christian groups to [[Proselytism|proselytize]] Jewish children in [[Nursery school|nurseries]] and [[kindergarten]]s.<ref name="NYT19030622" /> Ostensibly to combat this proselytization, in 1903 the congregation was one of several New York City synagogues that allowed Lucas the use of its premises for free religious classes, "open to all children of the neighborhood".<ref>See [[#refKaufman1999|Kaufman (1999)]], p.&nbsp;142, and the [[#refAJYearBookV7|''American Jewish Year Book'', Vol. 7]], p.&nbsp;85.</ref>

In December 1905 a mass meeting was held at the synagogue to protest massacres of Jews in [[Russia]] and mourn their deaths,<ref name=NYT19051211>[[#refNYT19051211|''The New York Times'', December 11, 1905]], p.&nbsp;2.</ref> and the congregation donated $500 to a fund for the sufferers.<ref name=AJYearBookV8>[[#refAJYearBookV8|''American Jewish Year Book'', Vol. 8]], p.&nbsp;194.</ref> In March 1909 Orthodox groups held meetings there to organize opposition to the constitution and make-up of [[Judah Leon Magnes]]'s ''Kehilla'', an overarching organization intended to represent all of New York's Jews, which lasted until 1922.<ref name=NYT19090328>[[#refNYT19090328|''The New York Times'', March 28, 1909]], p.&nbsp;11.</ref> A mass meeting of local residents and businessmen to combat Lower East Side gangsters was held at the synagogue in 1913.<ref name=NYT19130901>[[#refNYT19130901|''The New York Times'', September 1, 1913]], p.&nbsp;14.</ref>

The Rivington Street synagogue was also a preferred venue for airing issues relevant specifically to Romanian-American Jews. In 1905 it was the site of New York City's only memorial service honoring [[United States Secretary of State]] [[John Hay]], who had worked on behalf of oppressed Jews in Romania.<ref name=NYT19050710>[[#refNYT19050710|''The New York Times'', July 10, 1905]], p.&nbsp;7.</ref> In 1908, the synagogue hosted a meeting of over 30 religious organizations representing Romanian-American Jews, at which the formation of a federation of those organizations was proposed,<ref name=NYT19080330>[[#refNYT19080330|''The New York Times'', March 30, 1908]], p.&nbsp;6.</ref> and again in 1916 hosted a similar meeting of "two hundred delegates representing thirty-five organizations&nbsp;... to plan incorporation of the American League of Rumanian Jews".<ref name=NYT19160918>[[#refNYT19160918|''The New York Times'', September 18, 1916]], p.&nbsp;8.</ref> At the latter meeting steps were taken to raise $1,000,000 (today ${{formatprice|{{inflation|US|1000000|1916|r=-6}}}}) for oppressed Jews in Romania, and to campaign for their "equal rights and their emancipation from [[thrall]]dom".<ref name=NYT19160918/>

The congregation carried out extensive charity campaigns during the [[Passover]] season; by 1905 the congregation was distributing wagon-loads of ''[[Matzah|matzo]]s'' to poor Jews so they could celebrate the holiday.<ref name=NYT19050416>[[#refNYT19050416|''The New York Times'', April 16, 1905]], p.&nbsp;9.</ref> By 1907–1908 membership had risen to 500<ref name=AJYearBookV9>[[#refAJYearBookV9|''American Jewish Year Book'', Vol. 9]], p.&nbsp;302.</ref> (up from 160 in 1900),<ref name=AJYearBookV2>[[#refAJYearBookV2|''American Jewish Year Book'', Vol. 2]], p.&nbsp;364.</ref> the [[Talmud Torah]] had 250 students, and the synagogue's annual revenues were $25,000 (today ${{formatnum:{{inflation|US|25000|1907|r=-4}}}}).<ref name=AJYearBookV9/> The congregation ran into financial difficulties of its own in 1908, and in October of that year raised funds by selling a number of its Torah scrolls in a public auction.<ref name=Forward20081010>[[#refForward20081010|''The Forward'', October 10, 2008]].</ref>

Members who would become famous included [[George Burns]]<ref name=GeorgeBurns>See [[#refJacobs1996|Jacobs (1996)]], [[#refBastable2004|Bastable (2004)]], [[#refZakrzewski2006|Zakrzewski (2006)]] and [[#refEpstein2007|Epstein (2007)]], p.&nbsp;183.</ref> and [[Bucharest]]-born [[Edward G. Robinson]], who had his [[Bar and Bat Mitzvah|Bar Mitzvah]] there in 1906.<ref name=Epstein2007p249>[[#refEpstein2007|Epstein (2007)]], p.&nbsp;249.</ref><ref name=Gansberg1983p11>[[#refGansberg1983|Gansberg (1983)]], p.&nbsp;11.</ref> Robinson would later laugh that his propensity for taking the stage was demonstrated when he gave the longest Bar Mitzvah speech in the history of the congregation—"but the men sat still and listened".<ref name=Gansberg1983p11/> In 1911 First Roumanian-American celebrated its ten-year jubilee at the synagogue. Guest speakers included [[United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism|United Synagogue of America]] president [[Solomon Schechter]], [[United States House of Representatives|Congressman]] [[Henry M. Goldfogle]], and the principal speaker was [[William Jay Gaynor]], then [[Mayor of New York City]].<ref name="NYT19111218">[[#refNYT19111218|''The New York Times'', December 18, 1911]], p.&nbsp;20.</ref> Membership had grown to 350 families by 1919. The congregational school held classes daily, and had 4 teachers and 300 students. The [[American Jewish Year Book]] listed the synagogue's rabbi as Abraham Frachtenberg, a well-known cantor.<ref name="refAJYearBookV21p477">[[#refAJYearBookV21|''American Jewish Year Book'', Vol. 21]], p.&nbsp;477.</ref>

=="Cantor's Carnegie Hall"==
The synagogue's sanctuary had a high ceiling and "[[opera house]]" characteristics,<ref name=Lueck20060124>[[#refLueck20060124|Lueck (January 24, 2006)]].</ref> and was renowned for its "exquisite"<ref name=Barry2006>[[#refBarry2006|Barry (2006)]].</ref> or "magnificent"<ref name=Epstein2007p183/> acoustics. Known as "the Cantor's Carnegie Hall", First Roumanian-American became a center for cantorial music, and many of the greatest cantors of the 20th century led services there.<ref name=CantorsCarnegieHall/> [[Yossele Rosenblatt]], [[Moshe Koussevitzky]], [[Zavel Kwartin]] and [[Moishe Oysher]] all sang there, as did [[Jan Peerce]] and [[Richard Tucker]] before they became famous [[opera]] singers.<ref name=Cantors/> Having a reputation for good cantorial singing had a positive impact on a synagogue's finances; congregations depended on the funds from the sale of tickets for seats on the [[High Holy Days]], and the better the cantor, the greater the attendance.<ref name=Dunlap2004p78>[[#refDunlap2004|Dunlap (2004)]], p.&nbsp;78.</ref>

[[Red Buttons]] sang at the synagogue with Rosenblatt in 1927, and when visiting the synagogue almost 70 years later could still remember the songs.<ref name=Lueck20060124/> Though his family actually went to a "[[Shtiebel|small storefront synagogue]]", Buttons was discovered, at age eight, by a [[talent scout]] for Rosenblatt's Coopermans Choir, who heard him singing near the intersection of Fifth Street and [[Avenue C (Manhattan)|Avenue C]], at a "pickle stand". Buttons would sing in the choir for three years.<ref name=Green1995>[[#refGreen1995|Green (1995)]], p.&nbsp;B.04.</ref> [[Eddie Cantor]] has also been claimed as a choir member,<ref name=Epstein2007p183/><ref name=Jacobs1996>[[#refJacobs1996|Jacobs (1996)]].</ref><ref name=Moynihan2006>[[#refMoynihan2006|Lueck and Moynihan (2006)]].</ref> though this is less likely.<ref name=EddieCantor/>

Oysher—"the greatest of all popularizers of cantorial singing"<ref name=Sanders1980p36>[[#refSanders1980|Sanders (1980)]], p.&nbsp;36.</ref>—became the synagogue's cantor in 1935,<ref name=Shandler2009p36>[[#refShandler2009|Shandler (2009)]], p.&nbsp;36.</ref> and the congregation's membership peaked in the 1940s, when it numbered in the thousands.<ref name="Vitullo-Martin2006">[[#refVitullo-Martin2006|Vitullo-Martin (2006)]],</ref> In a 1956 interview by [[Brendan Gill]] in ''[[The New Yorker]]'' magazine, Oysher described First Roumanian-American as "the most orthodox Orthodox synagogue in town".<ref name=Gill1956p18>[[#refGill1956|Gill (1956)]], p.&nbsp;18.</ref> Oysher died of a heart attack two years later "at the young age of 51".<ref name=Forward20081128>[[#refForward20081128|''The Forward'', November 2008]].</ref> The week of his death, he had said, "half-jokingly", that he wanted only one person to deliver his eulogy: Chaim Porille,<ref name=PorilleName/> rabbi of the First Roumanian-American Congregation.<ref name=Forward20081128/> Porille had been born in Uścieczko (then in [[Austria-Hungary]]) in 1898, and moved to the United States in 1927, to serve as rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of [[Providence, Rhode Island]].<ref name=PorilleObits/> He became rabbi of First Roumanian-American in 1932, a post he filled until 1962,<ref name=PorilleRetired/> and was a member of the executive board of the [[Union of Orthodox Rabbis|Agudath Harabonim]]. He died in September 1968.<ref name=PorilleObits/>

==Subsequent renovations and appearance==
[[Image:First Roumanian-American exterior.jpg|thumb|200px|right|First Roumanian-American synagogue building on Rivington Street|alt=A five-story square building directly abuts a sidewalk. The facade is reddish brick, with two square windows on the second and three arched windows on the third floor. The main entrance juts forward from the facade, and is topped by an arch.]]
In the years following First Roumanian-American's initial purchase and renovation of the Rivington Street building, the congregation made a number of other structural alterations. These included:
* 1916–1917: Adding [[fire escape]]s on the east and west sides of the building.<ref name=Dolkart1997s8p4/>
* 1920s or later: Installing individual theatre-style seats in the gallery.<ref name=Dolkart1997s7p4>[[#refDolkart1997|Dolkart (1997)]], Section 7, p.&nbsp;4.</ref>
* 1938–1943: Removing the staircase to the fourth floor, leaving access only from the fire escapes.<ref name=Dolkart1997s8p4/>
* 1948–1950: Reconstructing the [[portico]] with some of the existing stone and brick, and adding new "fireproof steel stairs with [[terrazzo]] treads" and light-yellow and blue tinted glass windows on the east and west walls of the sanctuary,<ref name=Dolkart1997s8p4/><ref name=Dolkart1997s7p3/><ref name=Dolkart1997s7p1/> and other improvements.<ref>Including new toilets.</ref>
* 1964: Adding a kitchen to the basement "for social purposes".<ref name=Dolkart1997s8p4/>

In the 1990s, the north-facing orange-red brick [[facade]] presented a large, compound arched brick and stone portico, with deeply recessed doors. This arch was "supported by three carved columns, two twisted columns, and a central column with a chevron pattern, each with a Byzantine-style capital",<ref name=Dolkart1997s7p1/> and had a stone [[Coping (architecture)|coping]] on top.<ref name=Dolkart1997s7p2>[[#refDolkart1997|Dolkart (1997)]], Section 7, p.&nbsp;2.</ref> Carved into the portico arch in capital letters were the words "First Roumanian-American Congregation" in English.<ref name=Dolkart1997s7p2/>

Originally there were large rectangular window openings on the ground floor on each side of the portico, each divided into two windows, but these had been bricked in by the 1990s.<ref name=Dolkart1997s7p2/> The second- and third-floor windows above them were originally stained glass but later clear glass, each second-floor window having eight square panes, and each third-floor window six panes topped with an arch. "Ornamental red [[terra cotta]] panels" separated the second- and third-floor openings.<ref name=Dolkart1997s7p2/> On the third floor, centered above the portico, was a similar window, this one flanked by two short recessed twisted columns, each "supporting a stone [[lintel]] incised with a [[cupid's bow|cupid's-bow]] ornament".<ref name=Dolkart1997s7p1/> Similar lintels capped three-story [[pilaster]]s at each corner of the facade, and these pilasters and lintels extended around the northeast and northwest corners. The six-paned windows were each capped with a roundel and three [[spandrel]]s, "two large and one small", and these retained their original stained glass.<ref name=Dolkart1997s7p2/>

The shallow fourth floor was demarcated on the bottom by "a heavy [[frieze]] and [[corbel]]led brick [[cornice]]", which supported "eight round-arched windows with molded brick [[voussoir]]s&nbsp;... massed in a 3-2-3 pattern".<ref name=Dolkart1997s7p2/> By the 1990s these had also been bricked in. The attic on top of the fourth floor, added during the 1902–1903 renovations, was "capped by a band of small red terra-cotta blocks".<ref name=Dolkart1997s7p2/> The sides of the building were faced with plain brick, and flanked by narrow alleys with iron gates at each entrance. The walls generally had plain windows, though there was a round arched one on each side of the fourth floor. One fire escape remained, in the east alley.<ref name="Dolkart1997s7p2" /> Inside, the building held a two-story balconied main sanctuary and dining room, in addition to the basement kitchen and bathrooms. The heating system was in a sub-basement.<ref name="Dolkart1997s7p3" /> The front ark and wood ''bimah'' in the sanctuary were ornate; the red [[velvet]] draped ark was elaborately decorated, and the ''bimah'' was also decorated, and supported a large bronze candelabra.<ref name="Dolkart1997s7p3-4">[[#refDolkart1997|Dolkart (1997)]], Section 7, pp. 3–4.</ref> The sanctuary floor was wood, with wood [[panelling|wainscoting]] and [[plaster]] walls.<ref name="Dolkart1997s7p3" />

===Appearances in media===
The synagogue building can be seen in the 1956 film ''[[Singing in the Dark]]'', starring Oysher, and also starring (and produced by) [[Joey Adams]].<ref name=Singing>[http://www.jewishfilm.org/Catalogue/films/singinginthedark.htm Singing in the Dark], [[National Center for Jewish Film]] website. Retrieved September 15, 2009.</ref> The entrance can be seen in the panoramic photograph of the corner of Ludlow and Rivington streets found on the [[Beastie Boys]]' 1989 ''[[Paul's Boutique]]'' album cover foldout.<ref name=BeastieBoys>See [[#refNYO20060123|''The New York Observer'', January 23, 2006]], [[#refCarlson2006|Carlson (2006)]].</ref>

==Decline==
Over time the synagogue appealed to a broader constituency than just Roumanian-American Jews.<ref name=Sanders1980p36/><ref name="Wolfe2003pp171-172">[[#refWolfe2003|Wolfe (2003)]], pp. 171–172.</ref> Nevertheless, membership declined during the latter half of the 20th century as the [[Social mobility|upwardly mobile]] Jewish population of the Lower East Side moved to north Manhattan, [[Brooklyn]], and [[the Bronx]]. First Roumanian-American was particularly affected: as it was an Orthodox congregation, in order to attend [[Shabbat|Sabbath]] services its members had to live within walking distance.<ref name=Dolkart1997s8p5/> In 1980 First Roumanian-American was one of the few congregations on the Lower East Side to still have its own [[Talmud Torah]].<ref name="Sanders1980p36" /> This school had been housed in a small building on the east side of the synagogue that had formerly served as the church [[rectory]]. The congregation was eventually forced to sell the building, but the new owners retained the school's carved sign.<ref name="Wolfe2003pp171-172" />

Rabbi Mordecai Mayer, who had led the congregation for 20 years, died in 1981, two days before his 66th birthday.<ref name=NYT19810131>[[#refNYT19810131|''The New York Times'', January 31, 1981]].</ref><ref name=AJYearbookV83>[[#refAJYearbookV83|''American Jewish Year Book'', Vol. 83]], p.&nbsp;359.</ref> Born in [[Chortkiv|Chortkov]] (then in [[Austria-Hungary]]), he had graduated from the [[Chachmei Lublin Yeshiva]], and had emigrated to the United States in 1936.<ref name=AJYearbookV83/><ref name=Lieblich>[[#refLieblich|Lieblich]], Part 1.</ref> He had, for 40 years, conducted programs on Jewish topics on radio station [[WWRV|WEVD]], then owned by ''[[The Forward]]''. In the 1970s he was a columnist for the Yiddish weekly ''[[Algemeiner Journal]]'', and was the author of the English-language books ''Israel's Wisdom in Modern Life'' (1949) and ''Seeing Through Believing'' (1973).<ref name=AJYearbookV83/> He was succeeded by Jacob Spiegel.<ref name=Anderson200602>[[#refAnderson200602|Anderson (January 27 – February 2, 2006)]].</ref>

In the early 1990s the congregation could still be assured of the required quorum of ten men for the ''[[minyan]]'' during the week, as local businessmen attended the [[Jewish services#Shacharit (morning prayers)|morning]] and [[Jewish services#Ma'ariv/Arvit (evening prayers)|evening prayers]] before opening and after closing their shops.<ref name=Gelfand1992/> By 1996, however, the membership was down to around two dozen,<ref name=Jacobs1996/> and Spiegel began holding services in the small social hall in the basement, as the main sanctuary had become too expensive to maintain.<ref name=Barry2006/> With the decline in membership, the building deteriorated.<ref name="Dolkart1997s8p5" /> In 1997 the congregation received a grant for preservation and repair of the structure from the [[New York Landmarks Conservancy]],<ref name="Chen1997">[[#refChen1997|Chen (1997)]].</ref> and the following year received $4,000 from the Landmarks Conservancy's Sacred Sites program for roof [[truss]] repairs.<ref name="DailyNews19980629">[[#refNYDailyNews19980629|Daily News (New York), June 29, 1998.]]</ref><ref name="JHRs1998">[[#refJHRs1998|''Jewish Heritage Report'', Spring–Summer 1998]].</ref> That same year the synagogue building was listed in the [[National Register of Historic Places]]<ref name="NRHP980312">[[#refNRHP980312|NRHP Weekly List: 3/09/98 through 3/13/98]].</ref> at the local level.<ref name="Dolkart1997p1">[[#refDolkart1997|Dolkart (1997)]], p.&nbsp;1.</ref> In the fall of that year Shimon Attie's laser visual work ''Between Dreams and History'' was projected onto the synagogue and neighboring buildings for three weeks.<ref name="Apel2002pp69-70">[[#refApel2002|Apel (2002)]], pp. 69–70.</ref>

Spiegel had a [[Myocardial infarction|heart attack]] and died in 2001, leaving charge of the synagogue to the youngest of his three sons, Rabbi Shmuel Spiegel.<ref name="Barry2006" /> The other sons, Rabbi Gershon and Rabbi Ari, were, respectively, synagogue president and assistant rabbi.<ref name="Anderson200602" /> In June 2003 the name "Rabbi Yaakov Spiegel Way" was given collectively to the corner of [[Rivington Street]] and [[Ludlow Street]] near the synagogue location and the stretch of Rivington in front of the synagogue.<ref name="VillagerV73N6">[[#refVillagerV73N6|''The Villager'', June 11–17, 2003]].</ref> The roof had long been in bad shape by the time of Jacob Spiegel's death in 2001 and it was threatening to collapse. In December of that year, Shmuel Spiegel managed to raise $25,000 for emergency repairs.<ref name="Bastable2004" /> However, despite offering ''[[cholent]]'' (the traditional Sabbath lunch [[stew]]) at the Sabbath morning ''[[kiddush]]'', Spiegel had to search local streets to make the ten men for the ''minyan''.<ref name="Minyan">See [[#refSheraton2002|Sheraton (2002)]] and [[#refSalkin2002|Salkin (2002)]], p.&nbsp;2.</ref> In 2004 the regular membership hovered around 40. Spiegel kept the synagogue running at an annual cost of around $75,000.<ref name="Bastable2004" />

==Collapse==
[[Image:First Roumanian-American destroyed.jpg|thumb|220px|right|Demolition of the Rivington Street building|alt=A building is surrounded on the first floor by plywood hoarding. The second and third floors are partially open to the street, and the interior can be seen. Part of the roof has also been torn away, and the joists and trusses are exposed.]]
On January 22, 2006, the roof of the synagogue caved in, severely damaging the main sanctuary.<ref name=Moynihan2006/><ref name=Lueck20060124/> Joshua Cohen, writing in ''The Forward'' in 2008, described the roof as "falling in respectfully, careful not to disturb the local nightclubs, or the wine and cheesery newly opened across the street".<ref name=Cohen2008>[[#refCohen2008|Cohen (2008)]].</ref> No one was injured,<ref name=Lueck20060124/><ref name=Mark20060127>[[#refMark20060127|Mark (January 27, 2006)]].</ref> and a party to celebrate that fact was later held at the [[Congregation Chasam Sopher|Chasam Sopher Synagogue]] on Clinton Street.<ref name=Levin2006>[[#refLevin2006|Levin (2006)]].</ref>

The [[National Trust for Historic Preservation]] issued a [[News release|press release]] about the collapse, in which it described "older religious properties, like the First Roumanian-American Synagogue" as "national treasures", and stated:
<blockquote>The roof collapse at First Roumanian–American Synagogue this week demonstrates that houses of worship must have access to necessary technical assistance, staff and board training, and the development of new funding sources in order to save these landmarks of spirituality, cultural tradition, and community service.<ref name=NationalTrust2006>[[#refNationalTrust2006|National Trust for Historic Preservation, January 27, 2006]].</ref></blockquote>

Amy Waterman, executive director of a project to repair and renovate the [[Eldridge Street Synagogue]], noted in ''The Forward'':
<blockquote>Synagogues like the First Roumanian-American Congregation, more familiarly known as the Rumanische shul, were the first spiritual homes for successive waves of European immigrants. They were built more than 100 years ago, and just like the bridges and tunnels of New York City, they're bound to fail if not attended to.<ref name=Waterman2006>[[#refWaterman2006|Waterman (2006)]].</ref></blockquote>

Though First Roumanian-American had hosted a wedding as recently as October 30, 2005, the sanctuary had not been in regular use for over 10 years as a result of the difficulty maintaining it.<ref name=Lueck20060124/><ref name=Mark20060127/> Services had been held instead on a lower floor,<ref name=Lueck20060124/> and by autumn 2005 the roof was so porous that on [[Yom Kippur]]—even in the basement—they prayed "with buckets".<ref name=Mark20060127/> After a contractor found water damage in the ceiling beams in early December, the three Spiegel brothers had been holding services in their mother Chana's apartment at 383 [[Grand Street (Manhattan)|Grand Street]],<ref name=Spitz2006>[[#refSpitz2006|Spitz (2006)]].</ref><ref name=Levin2006/> where they placed the congregation's 15 Torah scrolls following the roof cave-in.<ref name=Mark20060210>[[#refMark20060210|Mark (February 10, 2006)]].</ref><ref name=Spitz2006/> The synagogue's historic [[Ark (synagogue)|ark]] was also retrieved from the ruins.<ref name=Anderson200603>[[#refAnderson200603|Anderson (March 29 – April 4, 2006)]].</ref> According to Shmuel Spiegel, "the insurance company [was] playing hardball."<ref name=Mark20060210/>

Because the building had never been registered as a [[National Historic Landmark]], after the collapse it was demolished on March 3, 2006.<ref name=Epstein2007p183/><ref name=Lueck20060307>[[#refLueck20060307|Lueck (March 7, 2006)]].</ref> The [[New York City Department of Buildings]] said that the decision to demolish was the congregation's, but congregational vice president Joshua Shainberg said the Department of Buildings had left them no choice: "The Department of Buildings told us, 'You are to demolish it or we are to demolish it.' There were figures of up to $1.5 million for demolition."<ref name=Anderson200603/> At the time of the building's collapse, the Spiegel brothers vowed that it would be re-built,<ref name=Anderson200602/> but not nearly as large: "perhaps 20 feet high by 60 feet deep by 75 feet wide, which would cost about $2 million to $3 million".<ref name=Anderson200603/>

[[Richard Price (writer)|Richard Price]] described the collapsed building in his novel ''[[Lush Life (novel)|Lush Life]]'',<ref name=Cohen2008/> writing that, after the demolition, only the rear wall with a [[Star of David]] in stained glass remained:<ref name=McGrath2008>[[#refMcGrath2008|McGrath (2008)]].</ref> "The candlesticks were standing up in the rubble, and the whole place looked like an experimental stage set—like [[Shakespeare in the Park]]."<ref name=McGrath2008/> By October 2007 all that was left was "an empty lot dotted with weeds and crushed bricks".<ref name=Austerlitz2007>[[#refAusterlitz2007|Austerlitz (2007)]].</ref> In a 2008 addendum to his book ''Dough: A Memoir'', Mort Zachter described the remains as "a multimillion dollar real estate opportunity masquerading as a vacant, weed-strewn lot".<ref name=Norris2008/>

==Controversy==
The collapse of the roof, and subsequent destruction of the synagogue, generated widespread concern and criticism among preservationists,<ref name=Lueck20060307/> who blamed Jacob and Shmuel Spiegel—a charge the family rejected.<ref name=Goldman2006>[[#refGoldman2006|Goldman (2006)]].</ref>
[[Image:Torah0002.JPG|thumb|275px|right|Carved stones from the arch of the entrance to the collapsed First Roumanian-American synagogue and its former Talmud Torah, incorporated into the entrance of the building next door at 95 Rivington Street|alt=Stones over a doorway arch with the incomplete name "Roumanian-American Cong" in carved capital letters. Beneath, carved into the lintel, are the words "Talmud Torah", also in capital letters. The two surround a carving of two tablets with Hebrew writing, representing the Ten Commandments.]]
Julia Vitullo-Martin, [[Research fellow|senior fellow]] at the [[Manhattan Institute]] and director of its Center for Rethinking Development, stated that First Roumanian-American's roof collapse and subsequent destruction dramatized an "ongoing though undocumented synagogue crisis—particularly in poor neighborhoods" and revealed a broader problem peculiar to Jewish houses of worship: {{blockquote|Since Judaism, unlike Catholicism, lacks a hierarchy that could keep track of how many [synagogues] are abandoned and demolished, the breadth of the problem is more difficult to ascertain.<ref name="Vitullo-Martin2007">[[#refVitullo-Martin2007|Vitullo-Martin (2007)]].</ref>}}

In the years preceding the building's collapse, the congregation had received offers of assistance from the New York Landmarks Conservancy, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Lower East Side Conservancy, and the [[New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation]], though reports on the amounts and types of assistance offered varied.<ref name=AssistanceOffers/> The congregation, then under the leadership of Jacob Spiegel, rejected them.<ref name="Vitullo-Martin2006"/><ref name=Mark20060210/><ref name=Lueck20060307/> Joel Kaplan of the Lower East Side Conservancy stated that the congregation "didn't want the several hundred thousand dollars in landmarking grants that went to other Lower East shuls, money that could have kept the shul in repair".<ref name=Mark20060310/>

The reasons given for this rejection also varied. According to Vitullo-Martin, writing in ''The Wall Street Journal'', Shmuel Spiegel was not sure why the offers were rejected, as the records were "buried in the rubble".<ref name="Vitullo-Martin2006"/> Vitullo-Martin speculated that congregants might have hesitated to agree to a condition that they would need permission from the state for any sale or alteration of the building during the following 20 years.<ref name="Vitullo-Martin2006"/> According to ''The New York Times'', Spiegel stated that the repairs required were so extensive that the congregation could not have made them even with this financial assistance.<ref name=Lueck20060307/> According to ''The Jewish Week'', Spiegel stated that the congregation "didn't want outside interference",<ref name=Mark20060310/> was "uncomfortable with the idea of being landmarked and having to answer to landmark guidelines", and was also uncomfortable with making part of the building into a "museum of past glory", as others nearby had done.<ref name=Mark20060210/>

Zachter writes:
{{Blockquote|A few blocks away, the Eldridge Street Synagogue survives. Why this synagogue was renovated, and the First Roumanian torn down, is a question for the rabbis and the historians.<ref name=Norris2008>[[#refNorris2008|Norris (2008)]].</ref>}}
{{clear}}

==Notes==
{{Reflist|colwidth=30em|refs=
<ref name=70HesterStreet>See [[#refEpstein2007|Epstein (2007)]], p.&nbsp;182, [[#refDunlap2004|Dunlap (2004)]], p.&nbsp;78, [[#refVitullo-Martin2006|Vitullo-Martin (2006)]], and the [[#refAJYearBookV1|''American Jewish Year Book'', Vol. 1]], p.&nbsp;203. [[#refDunlap2004|Dunlap (2004)]], p.&nbsp;78, says the 70 Hester Street building was constructed in 1882. The ''American Jewish Year Book'' lists the rabbi in 1899 as Abram Zolish.
</ref>
<ref name=AssistanceOffers>Descriptions of the assistance and offers of assistance vary:
* [[#refLueck20060307|Lueck (March 7, 2006)]] quotes Peg Breen, president of the New York Landmarks Conservancy, as saying congregational leaders "had refused offers of help, including one of up to $10,000 from the conservancy and the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The money would have been designated for engineering work to determine whether the roof could be replaced." Lueck also states that Holly Kaye, a consultant to the Lower East Side Conservancy, said that in 1997 the [[New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation]] had made an offer of $280,000 to "help shore up the roof, which was already at risk of collapse then".
* [[#refVitullo-Martin2006|Vitullo-Martin (2006)]] quotes Breen as stating that the New York Landmarks Conservancy had only "paid for a building conditions survey and commissioned [Andrew] Dolkart to write up a national register description that would make the synagogue eligible for New York state government aid". Vitullo-Martin also states that the Conservancy had only offered a grant of $4,000, and the Lower East Side Conservancy had only helped "apply for a state grant of $280,000".
* [[#refMark20060210|Mark (February 10, 2006)]] states that the synagogue had received only $7,500 from the Lower East Side Conservancy, one-twentieth the amount received by other congregations, "because of its hesitancy".
</ref>
<ref name=BuildingCapacity>Accounts of the building's capacity vary:
* [[#refGelfand1992|Gelfand (1992)]] describes the building as having a "huge sixteen-hundred-seat auditorium".
* [[#refWeissmanJoselit2006|Weissman Joselit (2006)]] states the building had "more than 1,600 seats".
* [[#refMark20060310|Mark (March 10, 2006)]] describes the building as "a 1,700-seater".
* [[#refEpstein2007|Epstein (2007)]], p.&nbsp;183 states "it could seat seventeen hundred".
* [[#refBarry2006|Barry (2006)]] states "[t]he main sanctuary may have had as many as 1,800 seats".
* [[#refJacobs1996|Jacobs (1996)]] describes the building as an "1,800-seat Orthodox synagogue".
* [[#refVitullo-Martin2006|Vitullo-Martin (2006)]] states the building sat "upward of 1,800".
</ref>
<ref name=BuildingConstructed>According to [[#refDolkart1997|Dolkart (1997)]], Section 8, p.&nbsp;1, it was "erected c. 1860 as a Protestant church". Other sources differ:
* [[#refLueck20060124|Lueck (January 24, 2006)]] states that the building was "[b]uilt in the 1850s as a Methodist church&nbsp;..."
* [[#refMark20060310|Mark (March 10, 2006)]] states "Manhattan was a very different place in 1857 when a large and beautiful church, arched and Romanesque, opened on 89 Rivington St."
* [[#refEldridgeMuseum|The Museum at Eldridge Street website]] states it was "[b]uilt as a church in 1857 and home to successive religious groups (both Jewish and missionary Christian)&nbsp;..."
* [[#refBarry2006|Barry (2006)]] states "the beautifully detailed structure&nbsp;... was built as a church in the 1860s&nbsp;..."
* [[#refSanders1980|Sanders (1980)]], p.&nbsp;36, states the building was "[b]uilt in the Romanesque Revival style as a Methodist church in 1888&nbsp;..."
* [[#refGelfand1992|Gelfand (1992)]] states the building was "[b]uilt as a Methodist church in 1888&nbsp;..."
* [[#refJacobs1996|Jacobs (1996)]] describes the building as "...&nbsp;the 1888 Romanesque-style synagogue&nbsp;..."
* [[#refWolfe2003|Wolfe (2003)]], pp. 171–172, states the building was "built&nbsp;... in 1888&nbsp;..."
* [[#refDunlap2004|Dunlap (2004)]], p.&nbsp;78, and [[#refVitullo-Martin2006|Vitullo-Martin (2006)]] state the building was "[b]uilt in 1888 as the Allen Street Methodist Episcopal Church&nbsp;..."
* [[#refGothamCenter|The Gotham Center for New York History website]] states the building "began as a church in 1890".
</ref>
<ref name=BuildingPurchased>According to [[#refDolkart1997|Dolkart (1997)]], Section 8, p.&nbsp;4, [[#refNYT19020426|''The New York Times'', April 26, 1902]], p.&nbsp;14, [[#refWachs1997|Wachs (1997)]], p.&nbsp;102, and the following sources:
* [[#refMark20060310|Mark (March 10, 2006)]] states "In 1902, the good burghers of the church sold the property to a shul, the First Roumanian-American Congregation&nbsp;..."
* [[#refEldridgeMuseum|The Museum at Eldridge Street website]] states "the building was acquired in 1902 by Shaarey Shamoyim, the First-Roumanian American congregation."
* [[#refEpstein2007|Epstein (2007)]], p.&nbsp;182, states "In 1902, the Congregation moved into a red-brick building at 89–93 Rivington Street."
* [[#refVitullo-Martin2006|Vitullo-Martin (2006)]] states "Some time in the early 20th century the Methodists gave up and sold the building to First Roumanian&nbsp;..."
Other sources differ:
* [[#refLueck20060124|Lueck (January 24, 2006)]] states "Built&nbsp;... as a Methodist church, the Rivington Street building was later purchased by Romanian Jewish immigrants and established as a synagogue in its current form in 1885."
* [[#refHomberger2002|Homberger (2002)]], p.&nbsp;85, states "The Roumaniashe Shul, organized in 1885, occupied a former Methodist church at 89 Rivington."
* [[#refWeissmanJoselit2006|Weissman Joselit (2006)]] states "Originally a Methodist church, the Romanesque Revival building with more than 1,600 seats was transformed into a synagogue in 1890."
* [[#refSanders1980|Sanders (1980)]], p.&nbsp;36, states the building was "[b]uilt&nbsp;... as a Methodist church in 1888" and "purchased by the Roumanian congregation Shaarey Shomoyim ("Gates of Heaven") about two years later."
* [[#refGelfand1992|Gelfand (1992)]] states the building was "[b]uilt as a Methodist church in 1888 and purchased by this congregation just four years later&nbsp;..."
* [[#refWolfe2003|Wolfe (2003)]], pp. 171–172, states the building was "built as the Allen Street Methodist Church in 1888, four years before its purchase by the Hebrew congregation."
</ref>
<ref name=Cantors>
There is no doubt that Moishe Oysher was the cantor of First Roumanian-American from the mid-1930s until his death in 1958 (see e.g. [[#refGill1956|Gill (1956)]], [[#refForward20081128|''The Forward'', November 2008]]). Sources differ on the other cantors who sang there:
* [[#refSanders1980|Sanders (1980)]], p.&nbsp;36 states that Yossele Rosenblatt and Moshe Koussevitzky began their American cantorial careers there, and that Oysher, Jan Peerce and Richard Tucker were also cantors there (the latter two before their opera careers).
* [[#refGelfand1992|Gelfand (1992)]] states the cantors who sang there were Rosenblatt, Koussevitzky, Zavel Kwartin, Oysher, and Peerce.
* [[#refJacobs1996|Jacobs (1996)]] lists the cantors as Koussevitsky, Oysher, Peerce, Tucker and Israel Cooper.
* [[#refDunlap2004|Dunlap (2004)]], p.&nbsp;78, lists the cantors as Peerce, Tucker, Koussevitsky, Oysher, and Rosenblatt.
* [[#refEpstein2007|Epstein (2007)]], p.&nbsp;183, lists the cantors as Koussevitzky, Rosenblatt, Oysher and Peerce.
* [[#refGreen1995|Green (1995)]], p.&nbsp;B.04 quotes [[Red Buttons]] as stating he sang at First Roumanian-American in 1927 as part of Rosenblatt's choir.
Aside from Oysher,
* Cooper served as the cantor of Kalwarier (Pike Street) Synagogue from the time he came to America until his death 23 years later in 1909. (See [[#refNYT19090112|''The New York Times'', January 12, 1909]], p.&nbsp;16).
* Rosenblatt served as cantor of [[Congregation Ohab Zedek]] from the time he came to America in 1911 until 1926, as cantor of Brooklyn's Congregation Anshe Sfard 1927–1928, and again of Ohab Zedek in 1929. He was unable to secure a full-time cantorial role after that. (See [[#refOlivestone2003|Olivestone (2003)]]).
* Tucker was the son of Romanian Jews, but he was trained as a choirboy by Cantor Samuel Weissner of Tifereth Israel (the Allen Street Synagogue) on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. His first cantorial job was part-time at Temple Emanuel in Passaic, New Jersey, then he had full-time roles at Adath Israel in the Bronx, and then the Brooklyn Jewish Center until 1944, his last full-time cantorial role. From 1961 on he was the [[High Holidays|High Holiday]] cantor at Chicago's Park Synagogue. (See [[#refSargeant1952|Sargeant (1952)]], pp. 131–132, [[#refTime19750120|''Time'']], January 20, 1975, [[#refRosenblum2009|Rosenblum (2009)]], pp. 146–147).
* Koussevitzky's first (and only) American cantorial position was with Brooklyn's Congregation Beth El, starting in 1952. (See [[#refMaoz2006|Maoz (2006)]]).
It is possible that these cantors made guest or High Holy Day appearances at First Roumanian-American; see [[#refDunlap2004|Dunlap (2004)]], p.&nbsp;78.
</ref>
<ref name=CantorsCarnegieHall>See [[#refJacobs1996|Jacobs (1996)]], [[#refBastable2004|Bastable (2004)]], [[#refAusterlitz2007|Austerlitz (2007)]], and [[#refEpstein2007|Epstein (2007)]], p.&nbsp;183. [[#refDunlap2004|Dunlap (2004)]], p.&nbsp;78, writes "First Roumanian-American is not the only synagogue to call itself the 'Cantor's Carnegie Hall,' but it makes a good claim..."
</ref>
<ref name=ConversionUnsuccessful>
See [[#refSanders1980|Sanders (1980)]], p.&nbsp;36, [[#refDolkart1997|Dolkart (1997)]], Section 8, p.&nbsp;3, [[#refWeissmanJoselit2006|Weissman Joselit (2006)]], [[#refVitullo-Martin2006|Vitullo-Martin (2006)]], and [[#refEpstein2007|Epstein (2007)]], p.&nbsp;183.
</ref>
<ref name=DedicationDate>
According to the [[#refAJYearBookV5|''American Jewish Year Book'', Vol. 5]], p.&nbsp;206, the dedication was on December 24, 1902. According to [[#refWachs1997|Wachs (1997)]], p.&nbsp;102, the dedication dates were December 24, 25 and 28, 1902.
</ref>
<ref name=EddieCantor>
Cantor's parents were Russian (not Romanian) Jews, and some sources have him singing in the choir of the [[Eldridge Street Synagogue]], a Russian-Jewish congregation across the street from the tenement in which Cantor reportedly lived. (See e.g. [[#refRosen1998|Rosen (1998)]], [[#refApel2002|Apel (2002)]], p.&nbsp;70, and [[#refTrager2004|Trager (2004)]], p.&nbsp;368.) Other sources, including the Eldridge Street Synagogue website and Cantor's autobiography, state that he had his Bar Mitzvah at the Pike Street Synagogue. (See e.g. [[#refEldridgeMuseum|The Museum at Eldridge Street website]], [[#refCantor2000|Cantor ''et al'' (2000)]], p.&nbsp;19, and [[#refGoldman1997|Goldman (1997)]], p.&nbsp;14.)
</ref>
<ref name=Founded1860>
According to [[#refDolkart1997|Dolkart (1997)]], Section 8, p.&nbsp;7, footnote 15, citing [[#refFine-Wolfe1978|Fine & Wolfe (1978)]], p.&nbsp;66. Also:
* [[#refDunlap2004|Dunlap (2004)]], p.&nbsp;78, states "First Roumanian-American, or Congregation Shaarey Shamoyim (Gates of Heaven), which dates to 1860."
* [[#refEpstein2007|Epstein (2007)]], p.&nbsp;182, states "In 1860, a group of Roumanian immigrants formed a congregation at 70 Hester Street."
* [[#refVitullo-Martin2006|Vitullo-Martin (2006)]] states "Rabbi Spiegel's Congregation Shaarey Shamoyim, or Gates of Heaven, had been founded in 1860 on nearby Hester Street."
</ref>
<ref name=Founded1885>
According to [[#refDolkart1997|Dolkart (1997)]], Section 8, p.&nbsp;3. Dolkart writes elsewhere that a marble plaque on the first floor said "First Roumanian-American Congregation Shaarai Shomoyim organized 1885" ([[#refDolkart1997|Dolkart (1997)]], Section 7, p.&nbsp;2). Also:
* [[#refLueck20060124|Lueck (January 24, 2006)]] states "...&nbsp;the Rivington Street building was later purchased by Romanian Jewish immigrants and established as a synagogue in its current form in 1885."
* [[#refHomberger2002|Homberger (2002)]], p.&nbsp;85, states "The Roumaniashe Shul, organized in 1885, occupied a former Methodist church at 89 Rivington."
</ref>
<ref name=PorilleName>
"Chaim Porille" is the name given in his obituary in ''The New York Times'' ([[#refNYT19680910|''The New York Times'', September 10, 1968]], p.&nbsp;44) and the ''American Jewish Year Book'' ([[#refAJYearBookV70|''American Jewish Year Book'', Vol. 70]], p.&nbsp;524). A November 1958 article in ''The Forward'' spelled his name "Khayem Parila" ([[#refForward20081128|''The Forward'', November 2008]]). A January 1937 article in ''The New York Times'' referred to him as "Stephen Parilla" ([[#refNYT19370125|''The New York Times'', January 25, 1937]], p.&nbsp;19).
</ref>
<ref name=PorilleObits>
See [[#refAJYearBookV70|''American Jewish Year Book'', Vol. 70]], p.&nbsp;524, [[#refNYT19680910|''The New York Times'', September 10, 1968]], p.&nbsp;44.
</ref>
<ref name=PorilleRetired>
According to [[#refAJYearBookV70|''American Jewish Year Book'', Vol. 70]], p.&nbsp;524. According to [[#refNYT19680910|''The New York Times'', September 10, 1968]], p.&nbsp;44, he "retired" three years before his death in 1968.
</ref>
}}

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* {{wikicite |ref=refSargeant1952 |reference=Sargeant, Winthrop. "Pagliacci from Brooklyn. Met's Top Italian Tenor is a Jewish Cantor Named Richard Tucker", ''[[Life (magazine)|Life]]'', November 3, 1952, pp.&nbsp;127–138.}}
* {{wikicite |ref=refShandler2009 |reference=Shandler, Jeffrey. ''Jews, God, and Videotape: Religion and Media in America'', [[New York University Press]], 2009. {{ISBN|978-0-8147-4068-2}}}}
* {{wikicite |ref=refSheraton2002 |reference=Sheraton, Mimi. [https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=990DE0DB1F3AF936A35757C0A9649C8B63&fta=y "The New Old World of the Lower East Side"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', April 5, 2002.}}
* {{wikicite |ref=refSpitz2006 |reference=Spitz, Rebecca. [https://web.archive.org/web/20071008063341/http://www.ny1.com/ny1/content/index.jsp?stid=1&aid=56500 "Roof Collapses At Historic Lower East Side Synagogue"], ''[[NY1]]'', January 23, 2006.}}
* {{wikicite |ref=refTime19750120 |reference=[https://web.archive.org/web/20110122070915/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,912704,00.html "Music: One of a Golden Dozen"], ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'', January 20, 1975.}}
* {{wikicite |ref=refTrager2004 |reference=Trager, James. ''The New York Chronology: The Ultimate Compendium of Events, People, and Anecdotes from the Dutch to the Present'', [[HarperCollins]], 2004. {{ISBN|978-0-06-074062-7}}}}
* {{wikicite |ref=refVillagerV73N6 |reference=[https://web.archive.org/web/20081120091644/http://www.thevillager.com/villager_7/laterivingtonrabbi.html "Late Rivington rabbi gets his way"], ''[[The Villager (Manhattan)|The Villager]]'', Volume 73, Number 6, June 11–17, 2003.}}
* {{wikicite |ref=refVitullo-Martin2006 |reference=Vitullo-Martin, Julia. [http://www.opinionjournal.com/taste/?id=110007918 "Still Standing: The worshippers move out, the ceiling falls in. What to do?"], ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'', February 3, 2006.}}
* {{wikicite |ref=refVitullo-Martin2007 |reference=Vitullo-Martin, Julia. [https://web.archive.org/web/20080509145445/http://www.manhattan-institute.org/email/crd_newsletter12-07.html "A Town Without Churches?"], The [[Manhattan Institute]]'s Center for Rethinking Development, Monthly Newsletter, December 2007.}}
* {{wikicite |ref=refWachs1997 |reference=Wachs, Sharona R. ''American Jewish liturgies: a bibliography of American Jewish liturgy from the establishment of the press in the colonies through 1925'', Volume 14 of ''Bibliographica Judaica'', Hebrew Union College Press, 1997. {{ISBN|978-0-87820-912-5}}}}
* {{wikicite |ref=refWaterman2006 |reference=Waterman, Amy. [http://www.forward.com/articles/1586/ "Preserve Historic Sites Before Roof Falls in Again on Communal Heritage"], ''[[The Forward]]'', February 3, 2006.}}
* {{wikicite |ref=refWeissmanJoselit1990 |reference=Weissman Joselit, Jenna. ''New York's Jewish Jews: The Orthodox Community in the Interwar Years'', [[Indiana University Press]], 1990. {{ISBN|978-0-253-20554-4}}}}
* {{wikicite |ref=refWeissmanJoselit2006 |reference=Weissman Joselit, Jenna. [http://www.forward.com/articles/1250/ "The Wonders of America: Mourning the Loss of a Lower East Side Jewel"], ''[[The Forward]]'', April 14, 2006.}}
* {{wikicite |ref=refWolfe2003 |reference=Wolfe, Gerard R. ''New York, 15 Walking Tours: An Architectural Guide to the Metropolis'', [[McGraw-Hill Professional]], 2003. {{ISBN|978-0-07-141185-1}}}}
* {{wikicite |ref=refZakrzewski2006 |reference=Zakrzewski, Paul. "A Tale Of Two Synagogues", ''[[The Jewish Week]]'', March 24, 2006.}}
{{Refend}}

==Further reading==
{{Refbegin}}
* Zachter, Mort. ''Dough: A Memoir'', [[University of Georgia Press]], 2007. {{ISBN|978-0-8203-2934-5}}
{{Refend}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|First Roumanian-American congregation}}
{{Refbegin}}
* {{cite web|url= https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1910/02/28/104922635.pdf |title="East Side Dazzled by Berger Wedding. Fifty Taxicabs and Thirty-Six Carriages Carry the Guests" }}, ''[[The New York Times]]'', February 28, 1910.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20100517075641/http://www.genelowinger.com/manhattan-diaspora-the-congregation/photos-pi_5.html Photographs of First Roumanian-American] from March 1994 by Gene Lowinger.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080908042540/http://curbed.com/archives/2006/02/07/breaking_rivington_street_synagogue_deconstruction_.php "Breaking: Rivington Street Synagogue Deconstruction?"], Curbed NY, February 7, 2006.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070407070105/http://www.curbed.com/archives/2006/03/14/on_the_market_incredible_shrinking_synagogue_site.php "On the Market: Incredible Shrinking Synagogue Site"], Curbed NY, March 14, 2006.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070814010438/http://www.curbed.com/archives/2006/03/16/incredible_shrinking_synagogue_listing.php "Incredible Shrinking Synagogue Listing"], Curbed NY, March 16, 2006.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070815130315/http://www.curbed.com/archives/2006/03/31/more_bad_news_from_incredible_shrinking_synagogue.php "More Bad News from Incredible Shrinking Synagogue"], Curbed NY, March 31, 2006.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20061116105249/http://www.curbed.com/archives/2006/09/25/curbedwire_incredible_shrinking_synagogue_14m.php "CurbedWire: Incredible Shrinking Synagogue, $14m"], Curbed NY, September 25, 2006.
*[https://archives.yu.edu/xtf/view?docId=ead/firstroumanian/firstroumanian.xml;query=;brand=default Guide to the First Roumanian-American Congregation "Shaarey Shomayim" annual reports, 1915-1919], Yeshiva University Archives.{{Refend}}

{{Lower East Side}}
{{National Register of Historic Places in New York}}
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[[Category:1885 establishments in New York (state)]]
[[Category:19th-century synagogues in the United States]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures demolished in 2006]]
[[Category:Churches completed in 1860]]
[[Category:Demolished buildings and structures in Manhattan]]
[[Category:Demolished churches in New York City]]
[[Category:Former Presbyterian churches in New York City]]
[[Category:Former synagogues in New York (state)]]
[[Category:Jewish organizations established in 1885]]
[[Category:Lower East Side]]
[[Category:Properties of religious function on the National Register of Historic Places in Manhattan]]
[[Category:Religious organizations established in 1885]]
[[Category:Romanesque Revival architecture in New York City]]
[[Category:Romanesque Revival synagogues]]
[[Category:Romanian-Jewish culture in New York (state)]]
[[Category:Synagogues completed in 1902]]
[[Category:Synagogues in Manhattan]]
[[Category:Synagogues on the National Register of Historic Places in New York City]]