Agudas Achim Synagogue
| Agudas Achim Synagogue | |
|---|---|
South profile and east elevation, 2008
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| Basic information | |
| Location | Livingston Manor, New York, US |
| Geographic coordinates | 41°54′3″N 74°49′28″W / 41.90083°N 74.82444°W |
| Affiliation | Reform Judaism |
| Country | United States of America |
| Leadership | Rabbi Fred Pomerantz |
| Website | Congregation Agudas Achim, Livingston Manor, NY |
| Architectural description | |
| General contractor | Izzy Brooks |
| Groundbreaking | 1924 |
| Completed | 1924 |
| Specifications | |
| Direction of façade | east |
| Materials | Concrete, stucco, wood |
| U.S. National Register of Historic Places | |
| Added to NRHP | November 19, 1998 |
| NRHP Reference no. | 98001404 |
Agudas Achim Synagogue, formally known as Congregation Agudas Achim, is located on Rock Avenue in Livingston Manor, New York, United States. It is a stucco-sided wooden building erected in the 1920s to serve the growing Jewish community in that area of the Catskills. It served the large summer population of Jews from the New York area who vacationed at family resorts in the region.
The congregation was founded as an unofficially Orthodox group that consisted of a diverse group of local Jews, not all of whom were Orthodox. The synagogue was built two years later. It combines features of Eastern European synagogues, reflecting the national origin of its founding Ashkenazi Jews, with some elements of historic Protestant Christian churches found in the area. Some features were also adapted from other contemporary synagogues in Sullivan County.
After a period of decline in the decades after World War II, following the demise of the local resort industry in the Catskills as people went further for vacations, Agudas Achim officially became a Reform congregation to attract new members. Today it holds services year-round. With a congregation of retired residents or people with second homes in the area, it has more members than at any time in its history. The building remains architecturally intact from the period of its construction. In 1998 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The synagogue is located a few blocks from downtown Livingston Manor on the west side of Rock Avenue, the former route of state highway NY 17. It is at the crest of a slight rise between the Little Beaver Kill and Willowemoc Creek, the two streams that converge at the unincorporated hamlet. The neighborhood is a mix of residential and commercial uses. A small copse of trees is located behind the synagogue; a wooded hill is to the east, behind the houses on Wright Street.
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