Temple Emanu-El of New York (1930)

Temple Emanu-El
Temple Emanu-El
	Synagogue façade on the Upper East Side
Religion
Affiliation	Reform Judaism
Ecclesiastical or organisational status	Synagogue
Ownership	Congregation Emanu-El of New York
Status	Active
Notable artworks	Mosaics by Hildreth Meière
Location
Location	1 East 65th Street
Municipality	Manhattan
State	New York
Country	United States
	Location in New York City
Geographic coordinates	40°46′05″N 73°58′11″W / 40.768°N 73.9697°W
Architecture
Architect(s)	Clarence Stein; Robert D. Kohn; Charles Butler;
Type	Synagogue
Style	Romanesque Revival; Moorish Revival;
Date established	1845 (as a congregation)
Completed	1930
Capacity	2,500 worshippers
Website
	emanuelnyc.org

Temple Emanu-El of New York is a synagogue at 1 East 65th Street on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, at the northeast corner with Fifth Avenue, in New York City, New York, United States. It was built in 1928–1930 for the Reform Jewish Congregation Emanu-El of New York. With capacity for 2,500 seated worshippers, it is one of the largest synagogues in the world.

Early years

Temple Emanu-El began on April 6, 1845. Initially meeting on the second floor of a building at Grand and Clinton Streets, in 1854 the congregation acquired the 12th Street Baptist Church, built in 1847 on East 12th Street. In 1868, the congregation built the Moorish Revival synagogue at 43rd Street and Fifth Avenue, designed by Leopold Eidlitz. This building was demolished in 1927 before the construction of the new, present synagogue.^[1]^[2]

1930 synagogue building

In 1929, the congregation moved to its present location at 65th Street and Fifth Avenue, where the Temple building was constructed to designs of Robert D. Kohn^[a] on the former site of the Mrs. William B. Astor House. The vast load-bearing masonry walls support the steel beams that carry its roof. The hall seats 2,500, larger than St Patrick's Cathedral.^[3]

The building was built between 1928 and 1929^[4]^[5] and consecrated in 1930. Its style is said by some to be Romanesque Revival^[6] — others say Moorish Revival with art deco ornamentation.^[4] The mosaics were made by Hildreth Meière (1892–1961).^[5]

The building on Fifth Avenue is one of the largest synagogues in the world. In size, it rivals many of the largest European synagogues such as the Grand Choral Synagogue of St. Petersburg, Moscow Choral Synagogue, and the Budapest Great Synagogue.^[7] Emanu-El means "God is with us" in Hebrew.

In the building there is a museum with a collection that includes more than 650 pieces that date from the 14th century to the present day, which can be separated into two main categories: History of Emanu-El and Judaica. The museum also has special exhibitions, lectures and tours.^[5]