Chatham Square Cemetery
(St. James Place between Oliver and James) - Established in 1656, this was the
first cemetery of Congregation Shearith Israel, the Spanish and Portuguese synagogue.
Among notables buried here is Rev. Gershom Mendes Seixas, one of the founders
of Columbia University (then Kings College) and Shearith Israel's religious leader
for a fifty-year period, which included the Revolutionary War. It is also the
resting place of Walter Jonas Judah, the first American-born Jew to enroll in
medical school. He died tragically at the age of 20 in 1798, a victim of the yellow
fever epidemic. Each year Shearith Israel conducts a special Memorial Day service
at the site to honor those who served in the Revolutionary Army.
Chatham
Square Library (33 East Broadway, between Market
and Catherine) - This library branch opened in 1903. The building was designed
by McKim, Mead, and White combining Classical and Renaissance Revival features
for a distinctive style that was later replicated in many subsequent library buildings.
The branch was renovated and upgraded in 2001, and received landmark status. It
features a strong collection of books and materials relating to Chinese heritage
and culture.
Jewish Daily Forward Building
(173 East Broadway). The former home of the Yiddish daily newspaper the Forverts,
or Forward. Founded in 1897 by Abraham Cahan, this left-leaning publication was
the most influential in the Yiddish-speaking community, supporting the Jewish
labor movement and some of our greatest Yiddish writers, including Isaac Bashevis
Singer. Today the building is being converted into condominiums.
Seward
Park Library (192 East Broadway). Built in 1910,
this was once one of the most-attended branch libraries in the City. The library,
which also housed the largest Yiddish collection in the City, has recently been
completely renovated.
Mikvah of the East
Side (311-313 East Broadway). This lovely 1904 Beaux
Arts building first housed the Young Men's Benevolent Association and later the
Arnold Toynbee House and the Grand Street Settlement. The building was converted
into a mikvah in 1941 and was renovated in 1996 under the highest standards of
rabbinical supervision to incorporate modern plumbing technology. It is one of
three ritual bathhouses in Manhattan.
Former
Jarmulowsky Bank Building (southwest corner of Canal
and Orchard Streets). Constructed in 1895, this was once the tallest structure
on the Lower East Side. The building housed a private bank established by Sender
Jarmulowsky, who was a founding member of the Eldridge Street congregation. It
served the Eastern European Jewish community until a disastrous run on the bank
in 1912. The doors closed soon after, with millions in debt outstanding to creditors.
Eddie Cantor Birthplace
(19 Eldridge Street). Directly across the street from the Eldridge Street Synagogue,
this was the purported birthplace of the well-known entertainer.
Ira
Gershwin Birthplace (60 Eldridge Street). The brilliant
lyricist, long-time partner with brother George and with other musical theater
luminaries such as Kurt Weill and Jerome Kern, was born in 1896 in this modest
tenement. It is marked with an appropriate plaque.
These histories are
adapted from Joyce Mendelsohn's excellent guide, The Lower East Side: Remembered
and Revisited (Lower East Side Press, 2001).
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