Jarmulowsky’s Bank
58 Canal, southwest corner of Orchard
Constructed in 1912, this was once the tallest structure on the LES. Its founder, Sender Jarmulowsky, whose name still appears under the building’s capital, was the founding president of the Eldridge Street congregation. This bank served the community until a disastrous run in 1917. When its doors closed, it owed millions in debt.
Approx. 5 minute walk.

Loew’s Canal St. Theater
31 Canal, between Ludlow and Essex
This popular movie theater, built in the 1920s, was one of the few air-conditioned buildings on the LES. Although it is no longer used as a theater, if you look up at its terracotta-glazed windows, you can notice signs of its original purpose.
Approx. 5 minute walk.

Forward Building
175 East Broadway between Jefferson and Rutgers
The most popular socialist Yiddish daily newspaper the Forverts, or Forward, was founded in 1897 by Abraham Cahan. Today, the building has been converted into condominiums, but you can still see signs of its past use in its Yiddish name written under the clock, as well as in the golden medallions of socialist icons Marx, Engels, Lassalle, and Bebel.
Approx. 8 minute walk.

Educational Alliance
197 East Broadway at Grand
The EA is a community center established in 1889 to help immigrants “Americanize.” The center offered language and art classes, a free library, and even dance and cooking classes. This building, which opened in 1891, still serves the largely immigrant population of the neighborhood.
Approx. 8 minute walk.

Henry Street Settlement
265 Henry, between Pitt and Grand
Henry Street has been serving the LES community for over a century. Founded by Lillian Wald in 1893, the institution was dedicated to teaching health and hygiene, along with English and arts to the new immigrants. Henry Street nurses were famous for traveling from tenement rooftop to rooftop to treat patients.
Approx. 15 minute walk.

First Roumanian American Congregation
89 Rivington, between Orchard and Ludlow.
The red-brick synagogue that used to stand on this empty lot was condemned and dismantled after its roof collapsed in 2007. You can still see where its doorway once stood on the very right side and its Talmud Torah religious school on the left side of the adjacent building.
Approx. 15 minute walk.

Beth Hamedrash Hagadol
60 Norfolk, between Grand and Broome.
Built in 1852 as a Baptist church, this gothic revival building was purchased in 1885 by congregants who had recently broken away from the congregation that formed Eldridge Street. It was one of the largest synagogues on the LES.
Approx. 12 minute walk.

Bialystoker Synagogue
7 Willett Street, off Grand.
Built in 1826, the federal-style building originally housed a Methodist church and served as a stop on the Underground Railroad. Go inside and discover the old ladder leading to an attic where slaves hid during the Civil War. Today, it is home to a flourishing Orthodox congregation.
Approx. 20 minute walk.

Mesivta Tifereth Jerusalem
145 East Broadway, between Rutgers and Pike.
Chartered in 1907, MTJ attained great distinction beginning in the mid-1940s, as its head, Rabbi Moshe Feinstein, became one of the most important Talmud sages in America. Its name is written in both Hebrew and English characters on the building’s façade and is home to a vibrant Orthodox community.
Approx. 10 minute walk.