| Hebrew Tabernacle of Washington Heights | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Reform Judaism |
| Ecclesiastical or organisational status | |
| Leadership | Rabbi Paula Feldstein |
| Status | Active |
| Location | |
| Location | 551Fort Washington Avenue,Manhattan,New York City,New York |
| Country | United States |
  Location inNew York City | |
| Coordinates | 40°51′13″N73°56′15″W / 40.85361°N 73.93750°W /40.85361; -73.93750 |
| Architecture | |
| Architects |
|
| Type | Church(original design) |
| Style | Art Deco |
| Established | 1905(as a congregation) |
| Completed |
|
| Dome | One |
| Website | |
| hebrewtabernacle | |
Fourth Church of Christ, Scientist, The | |
| NRHP reference No. | 11000620 |
| Added to NRHP | August 31, 2011 |
| [1][2] | |
TheHebrew Tabernacle of Washington Heights is a historicReformJewishsynagogue located at 551Fort Washington Avenue, on the corner of 185th Street, in theWashington Heights neighborhood ofManhattan inNew York City, New York, U.S. ThedomedArt Deco style building was built as achurch for theFourth Church of Christ, Scientist, in 1932 and converted to a synagogue in 1973.[3][4][5]
The Fourth Church of Christ, Scientist was founded in 1896 as West Side Church of Christ, Scientist. Initially located in theSolon Spencer Beman-designedNeoclassical building at West 178th Street and Fort Washington Avenue, it sold the church building to provide land for theGeorge Washington Bridge. The building at 551Fort Washington Avenue, across fromBennett Park on West 185th Street, was designed by architects Cherry & Matz of Manhattan and built during the years 1931 to 1932.[6] It isArt Deco, with a bold and chalkylimestone facade, with stainless steel and brass.[6][7]
The Fourth Church is no longer in existence.[8]
The Hebrew Tabernacle Congregation purchased the building in 1973, as the church faced a dwindling congregation and increasing costs, and the building became asynagogue. The Hebrew Tabernacle Congregation, founded in 1905 inHarlem byGerman-Jewish founders, had outgrown its 1920s building on West 161st Street betweenBroadway and Fort Washington Avenue, and its Jewish congregants there were becoming increasingly isolated.[9][10][11]
As of 1982, many of the synagogue's members had come to New York in the 1930s as Jewish refugees fromcentral Europe (in fact, so many German Jews were in the neighborhood, that it was jokingly referred to as "Frankfurt on the Hudson"), and the synagogue had 500 families as members.[12][13] The congregation is a member of theUnion for Reform Judaism.[3]
On August 31, 2011, the building was added to theNational Register of Historic Places.[2][14]
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