"The Lost Synagogue’s” History
The Synagogue was originally built in the early 1920s under
the leadership of Philadelphia businessman and philanthropist
Alfred Fleisher, who was the President of the Eastern State
Penitentiary Board of Trustees at the time. Mr. Fleisher
attended all Jewish services at Eastern State until his death
in 1928, and the Jewish inmates named the Synagogue The Alfred
Fleisher Memorial Synagogue, “as a lasting memorial of the
kindness and justice Fleisher has always shown.”
When public tours of Eastern State Penitentiary began in 1994,
the Synagogue was deteriorated, primarily because leaks in its
roof led to extensive damage to the plaster ceiling and wooden
elements. In addition, public access to the space was made
impossible by invasive trees that collapsed portions of the
stone walls along either side of the Synagogue’s alleyway
entrance.
In 2004, Laura Mass, a graduate student in historic preservation
from the University of Pennsylvania, finished writing her thesis
on the Synagogue. Her research helped uncover the history of
Jewish life at Eastern State, dating to the 1830s, and
identified the men from the Philadelphia Jewish community whose
loyalty to the prisoners led to the construction of the Synagogue
in the early 1920s. (At its peak, the Jewish population within
the prison was no more than eighty inmates.) Ms. Mass’ thesis
revealed a compelling story of the volunteers, each dedicated to
supporting the small group of inmates over many years, attending
to their personal lives, and helping them maintain their faith.
One volunteer was Joseph Paull (left, with inmates and officers in
the Synagogue), who first visited Eastern State Penitentiary as
a “strongman” to entertain the inmates. Mr. Paull attended
Jewish services at the prison, donated food from his kosher butcher
shop, and found jobs for more than 300 inmates upon their release.
William Portner, President of the Prison Aid Committee in the 1920s
and 1930s, attended all Jewish services at the prison from 1923
to 1940.
Following the completion of her thesis, Ms. Mass led a team of
interns that carefully evaluated and removed the twelve inches of
debris covering the Synagogue floor. Although consisting primarily of
fallen ceiling plaster, the debris had potential to contain other
artifacts relating to the Synagogue’s history, and the team approached
the room as an archeological site: it was sectioned, the debris was
removed with trowels, and was then sifted through a screen to catch
artifacts. The team found pages from a song book used for holiday
celebrations, intact portions of the decorative ceiling plaster, including
a point of the ceiling’s Star of David, and samples of painted plaster
that helped determine the interior decorative scheme of the Synagogue
through time. The team also discovered the use of the service area
at the rear of the space, establishing its use for holidays and other
events that involved kosher food.
By 2005, the historic site had secured funding to provide the Synagogue
with a new roof, gutters and downspouts, and to complete extensive stone
restoration along the alley leading to the space. The Synagogue was opened
to the public for one weekend only last April before restoration began
and will be seen by the public in its completed state for the first time.
« Back