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Society Hill Synagogue
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Society Hill Synagogue
Society Hill Synagogue is an independent Jewish congregation and synagogue located in the Society Hill section of Center City, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States.
The synagogue is home to a 432-household congregation with Shabbat and holiday services, a preschool for children 18 months to 5 years old, a Hebrew school for early childhood learning through high school grades, adult education, social and communal activities, impactful social action, and engaging intergenerational programs.
Society Hill Synagogue is located at 418 Spruce Street. The building was designed by architect Thomas Ustick Walter in 1829 to serve as the home of the Spruce Street Baptist Church. Congregation Beth Hamedrash Hagadol Nusach Ashkenaz purchased the building in 1910. Within three years, the synagogue's official name was changed to the Roumanian American Congregation, also known as "Or Chodash-Agudas Achim" (New Light-Union of Brethren). That congregation was succeeded by Society Hill Synagogue, which continues to operate in the historic property and built the synagogue's adjacent Paula Kline Learning Center in 2021. The historic building is located within the Society Hill Historic District that was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in June 1971.
Former members of First Baptist Church commissioned Thomas Ustick Walter to design the building at 418 Spruce Street in 1829. Walter also served as clerk of the church and superintendent of the Sunday school. In 1851, the church was enlarged, and a new façade with an attic story was designed by Walter with cupolas over the side bays of the façade. The congregation made additions to the rear of the building in 1871 and 1877.
Spruce Street Baptist Church moved to 50th and Spruce Streets in 1908, and in 1963 to Newtown Square where it continues as an active congregation.
The building was sold at auction in 1910 and was purchased by the Roumanian American Congregation, which represented the merger of Or Chodash and Agudas Achim Congregations. Or Chodash was organized in 1886 as a beneficial society with daily services held in the second floor at 512 S. Third Street. Agudas Achim was organized in 1905.
The synagogue became commonly known as the Great Roumanian Shul (Hebrew: דיא גרויסע רומענישע שוהל). It served the Philadelphia Jewish Quarter's Eastern European Jews in general, and was the center for the city's Roumanian Jewish community and fraternal organizations, hosting meetings and speakers. The Roumanian synagogue hosted Dr. Wilhelm Filderman for a mass meeting during a visit to Philadelphia in March 1926.
Society Hill declined in the years following World War II. Immigrant Jewish communities assimilated, moved to suburbs, membership declined, and by the 1960s, the synagogue building had fallen into disrepair.
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Society Hill Synagogue
Society Hill Synagogue is an independent Jewish congregation and synagogue located in the Society Hill section of Center City, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States.
The synagogue is home to a 432-household congregation with Shabbat and holiday services, a preschool for children 18 months to 5 years old, a Hebrew school for early childhood learning through high school grades, adult education, social and communal activities, impactful social action, and engaging intergenerational programs.
Society Hill Synagogue is located at 418 Spruce Street. The building was designed by architect Thomas Ustick Walter in 1829 to serve as the home of the Spruce Street Baptist Church. Congregation Beth Hamedrash Hagadol Nusach Ashkenaz purchased the building in 1910. Within three years, the synagogue's official name was changed to the Roumanian American Congregation, also known as "Or Chodash-Agudas Achim" (New Light-Union of Brethren). That congregation was succeeded by Society Hill Synagogue, which continues to operate in the historic property and built the synagogue's adjacent Paula Kline Learning Center in 2021. The historic building is located within the Society Hill Historic District that was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in June 1971.
Former members of First Baptist Church commissioned Thomas Ustick Walter to design the building at 418 Spruce Street in 1829. Walter also served as clerk of the church and superintendent of the Sunday school. In 1851, the church was enlarged, and a new façade with an attic story was designed by Walter with cupolas over the side bays of the façade. The congregation made additions to the rear of the building in 1871 and 1877.
Spruce Street Baptist Church moved to 50th and Spruce Streets in 1908, and in 1963 to Newtown Square where it continues as an active congregation.
The building was sold at auction in 1910 and was purchased by the Roumanian American Congregation, which represented the merger of Or Chodash and Agudas Achim Congregations. Or Chodash was organized in 1886 as a beneficial society with daily services held in the second floor at 512 S. Third Street. Agudas Achim was organized in 1905.
The synagogue became commonly known as the Great Roumanian Shul (Hebrew: דיא גרויסע רומענישע שוהל). It served the Philadelphia Jewish Quarter's Eastern European Jews in general, and was the center for the city's Roumanian Jewish community and fraternal organizations, hosting meetings and speakers. The Roumanian synagogue hosted Dr. Wilhelm Filderman for a mass meeting during a visit to Philadelphia in March 1926.
Society Hill declined in the years following World War II. Immigrant Jewish communities assimilated, moved to suburbs, membership declined, and by the 1960s, the synagogue building had fallen into disrepair.
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