At this time one year ago, the only testament to Eastern State Penitentiary’s original Alfred W. Fleisher Memorial Synagogue was a room filled with the detritus of fallen plaster, flanked by the rotting benches used by a religious community long gone.
Abandoned when the rest of the historic prison closed in 1971, the synagogue sat untouched for years, and, situated as it was between several taller structures, the area behind Cellblock 7 received years’ worth of rainwater runoff, advancing the state of decay slowly creeping across the entire penitentiary.
When Andrew Fearon, lead conservator for Milner + Carr Conservation company was contracted to survey the synagogue in 2005, rain was dripping through the broken skylights, further contributing to the mess inside.
But just one year after Milner + Carr’s extensive restoration project, overseen by Sally Elk, executive director of Eastern State, and Cindy Wanerman, president of the board of trustees of the penitentiary, the synagogue has been restored to its original glory, with a combination of restoration and re-creation work. Read more.