B'nai Jeshurun (Manhattan)
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Congregation B'nai Jeshurun Synagogue and Community House
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Congregation B'Nai, March 2009
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| Location | 257 W. 88th St. and 270 W. 89th St., New York, New York |
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| Coordinates | 40°47′24″N 73°58′35″W / 40.79000°N 73.97639°WCoordinates: 40°47′24″N 73°58′35″W / 40.79000°N 73.97639°W |
| Area | 0.9 acres (0.36 ha) |
| Built | 1917 |
| Architect | Schneider, Walter S.; Et al. |
| Architectural style | Late 19th And Early 20th Century American Movements, Semitic Revival |
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| Added to NRHP | June 2, 1989 |
B'nai Jeshurun is a synagogue in the Upper West Side of Manhattan, New York City.
Founded in 1825, Bnai Jeshurun was the second synagogue founded in New York and the third-oldest Ashkenazi synagogue in the United States.
The synagogue was founded by a coalition of young members of congregation Shearith Israel and immigrants and the descendants of immigrants from the German and Polish lands. It was the stated intention to follow the "German and Polish minhag (rite)." The order of prayers followed that of the Ashkenazi Great Synagogue of London and sought the guidance of the British chief Rabbi Solomon Hirschell on matters of ritual. The congregation dedicated its first building on Elm Street in Manhattan in 1827.
The first rabbi, Samuel Isaacs, was appointed in 1839. By 1850, the congregation had grown large enough to make it necessary to build a new synagogue on Green Street.
In 1865, the congregation moved yet again, to a new building on 34th Street, the parcel later part of the site of the flagship Macy's store. Driven by the rapid expansion of the city, they moved yet again in 1885 to Madison Avenue at 65th Street. That building was designed by Rafael Guastavino and Schwarzmann & Buchman.
The present building, located at 257 West 88th Street between Broadway and West End Avenue was dedicated in 1917. It was designed by Henry B. Herts, a congregant and celebrated theater architect, with Walter S. Schneider. In addition to its place on the National Register of Historic Places, the synagogue was included in the New York City Riverside Drive-West End Historic District created in 1990. The muqarna-studded ceiling was redesigned following its collapse during renovations in the early 1990s and was replaced with a future-invoking space frame back-lit to simulate a nighttime sky [2].
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