Temple Emmanu-El

Temple Emmanu-El (110)

DOWNLOAD THIS AUDIO (0.8 MB)

DOWNLOAD ALL (135.07 MB)

HOTEL NEAR

Right in the middle of Museum Mile, you will find a great worship centre. It is the largest reform synagogue in the world, seating up to 2,500 faithful. It is so large that it competes with the city's cathedrals.

The establishment of Temple Emmanu-EL was the result of the second wave of Jewish immigration from Europe to the United States, mainly from Austria and Germany. In fact, during the American Revolution in the late 18th century, there were about 10,000 Jews in the country, mostly Sephardim. But then, from 1835 to 1855, another 250,000 came here and settled in New York, Baltimore, Cincinnati and other cities. For this reason, there are so many reform synagogues in the country.

It was in 1845, when a group of Jews founded a small congregation that would become the seed of the current huge synagogue. The Temple Emmanu-EL, as you see it now, was begun in 1927 and completed in 1929, according to a design by the firm Kohn, Butler & Stein. More than 30 metres wide, more than 50 long and more than 30 high, it is, undoubtedly, one of the most majestic synagogues around the world. The building's predominant style is the neo-Romanesque, although it denotes a certain Byzantine, Moorish and Art Nouveau influence, especially in its decorations.

Pay attention to its beautiful flower-shaped rosette, designed by Oliver Smith. Its 12 petals are the 12 tribes of Israel, which come out of a 6-pointed star. Around 36 small stained glass windows symbolise the 36 righteous men, responsible for the preservation of the world and, on the other hand, 36 means a double life. In fact, in Hebrew, 2 times 18, i.e. 36, is the numerical value of the Hebrew word chai, meaning life.

As you can see, the synagogue is full of exciting secrets. Visit it calmly and discover them. You should not miss its stained glass, mosaics, the largest organ of a synagogue in the world and, of course, the sanctuary of Emmanu-EL.

If you have not done so yet, you will soon discover how fascinating it is to know the different parts of a synagogue, its icons, its symbolisms, etc. In fact, it all makes sense the better you know it, right?

ALL POINTS OF INTEREST

INFORMATION

History (1)

Play&Tour (0)

ESSENTIAL

9-11 (19)

Bowling Green (11)

Central Park (120)

City Hall (23)

Cooper Union Foundation (62)

Empire State Building (73)

GE Building (90)

Ground Zero (18)

Memorial Plaza (145)

Nolita (29)

SoHo (37)

St Patrick's Old Cathedral (30)

Times Square (81)

United Nations (79)

World Trade Centre Transportation Hub (147)

9-11 Memorial (144)

Broadway (67)

Chelsea (50)

Columbia University (131)

Dakota Building (107)

Equitable Life Building (59)

General Post Office (66)

Lincoln Center (99)

Museum Mile (109)

One World Trade Center and One World Observatory (148)

South Street Seaport Historic District (27)

Statue of Liberty (3)

TriBeCa (36)

Wall Street (14)

Battery Park (4)

Brooklyn Bridge (26)

Chinatown (31)

Columbus Circle (97)

E. V. Haughwout Building (39)

Fifth Avenue (69)

Grand Central Terminal (75)

Little Italy (28)

New York Public Library (71)

Radio City Music Hall (89)

St John the Divine Cathedral (130)

The Mall (126)

Trinity Church (13)

Washington Square Park (41)

Bethesda Fountain (123)

Carnegie Hall (96)

Chrysler Building (76)

Con Edison Building (60)

Ellis Island (2)

Flatiron Building (68)

Greenwich Village (40)

Little Singer Building (38)

New York Stock Exchange (16)

Rockefeller Center (88)

St Patrick's Cathedral (87)

The Reservoir (127)

Trump Tower (103)

Woolworth Building (24)

INTERESTING

30 Park Place (143)

Astor Place Subway Station (84)

Bryant Park (70)

Central Park Zoo (124)

City Hall Park (22)

Cushman Row (48)

Federal Hall National Memorial (17)

Grace Church (58)

International Building (93)

Marilyn Subway Grate (72)

New York Times Building (138)

Roosvelt Island Tram Way (140)

Stone Street (149)

Temple Emmanu-El (110)

Tiffany & Co. (104)

Wollman Memorial Park (121)

432 Park Avenue (142)

Bank of America Tower (136)

Caffe Reggio (139)

Channel Gardens (92)

Cleopatra's Needle (129)

Daily News Building (77)

Federal Reserve Bank of New York (15)

Groud Zero - Tribute to The Victims (20)

Lower Plaza (91)

New Victory Theater (83)

One57 (141)

St Luke's in the Fields (45)

Strand Book Store (56)

The Ghostbusters Headquarters (150)

Union Square Park (57)

African Burial Ground (25)

Belvedere Castle (122)

Carlyle Hotel (106)

Chelsea Hotel (52)

Conservatory Garden (125)

Duffy Square (82)

Ford Foundation Building (78)

Hearst Tower (135)

Madison Square (65)

New World Trade Center (21)

Riverside Church (132)

St Luke's Place (46)

Strawberry Fields (128)

The High Line Park (47)

Washington Mews (43)

Apollo Theater (133)

Bowling Green Bull (12)

Castle Clinton (6)

Church of Our Lady of the Rosary (7)

Cunard Building (10)

Eldridge Street Synagogue (33)

Fraunces Tavern (9)

Hudson River Park (49)

Maine Memorial (98)

New York by Gehry (8 Spruce Street) (137)

Riverside Park (101)

St Mark's Church in the Bowery (64)

Stuyvesant Street (63)

The Pythian Temple (100)

White Horse Tavern (42)

MUSEUM

American Museum of Natural History (108)

DIA Art Foundation (54)

International Center of Photography (85)

Metropolitan Museum of Art (114)

Museum of Jewish Heritage (5)

National September 11 Memorial Museum (146)

Pierpont Morgan Library & Museum (74)

Theodore Roosevelt House (55)

Asia Society and Museum (112)

Forbes Galleries (44)

Jewish Musem (117)

Mount Vernon Hotel Museum & Garden (105)

Museum of Modern Art (95)

New Museum of Contemporary Art (35)

Rubin Museum of Art (53)

Villard Mansions (80)

Chelsea Art Museum (51)

Frick Collection (111)

Lower East Tenement Museum (34)

Museo del Barrio (119)

Museum of the City of New York (118)

New York Historical Society (102)

Studio Museum in Harlem (134)

Whitney Museum of American Art (113)

Cooper-Hewitt Museum (116)

Guggenheim Museum (115)

Madame Tussauds (86)

Museum of Chinese in America (32)

National Museum of the American Indian (8)

Old Merchant's House (61)

The Paley Center for Media (94)