With support from the University of Richmond

History News Network

History News Network puts current events into historical perspective. Subscribe to our newsletter for new perspectives on the ways history continues to resonate in the present. Explore our archive of thousands of original op-eds and curated stories from around the web. Join us to learn more about the past, now.

Historic Philadelphia prison works to restore synagogue

In the eyes of the law, the worshippers were criminals. But to the rabbi who served them, they were simply Jewish men in search of faith and spiritual guidance.
The synagogue behind the walls of Eastern State Penitentiary was a place for inmates to reflect and, perhaps, seek forgiveness. But after the prison closed in 1971, the room remained forgotten even as work began to preserve other parts of the decaying historical site.

Now, officials at the 179-year-old landmark prison and popular tourist attraction are restoring the synagogue's spare but dignified environs. Decades of neglect had left the consecrated space almost inaccessible due to collapsed stone walls outside; inside, rotted wood benches sat amid several inches of debris from a fallen ceiling.
Read entire article at AP