How do you restore an old building? It
sounds like a simple question but there are many factors to consider when restoring
a building. Do you make the building look as it did on opening day, pristine and
perfect? Do you leave traces of its history - new design elements that were added
after the building was established, areas that were renovated, even traces of
the building's decay? Do you add new elements that reflect new uses of the building?
These are questions that the Eldridge Street Project's preservation team comprised
of leading architects, preservationists and historians, grappled with when creating
our architectural master plan for the restoration.
Our restoration philosophy
is attuned to the history, stories and aesthetics of an old building. The Project's
architectural master plan calls for the restoration of the Synagogue to it original
grandeur while leaving intact elements and areas that evidence the building's
history. The building's original gas fixtures will remain, as will floorboards
worn down by decades of prayer. In addition, there will be areas within the sanctuary
that are not aesthetically restored and pay testament to the building's decline
as its congregation left the Synagogue and the Lower East Side for more affluent
neighborhoods.
One case study exemplifies the difficult decisions a preservation
architect must make. On the eastern wall of the sanctuary are tablet-shaped, glass-block
windows that were introduced to the building about sixty years ago. This space
had originally been occupied by a grand rose window that would have beautifully
complemented the Moorish design and vibrant color scheme of the building. According
to oral history interviews, the first window was blown out by the notorious hurricane
of 1938; due to lack of funds the congregation opted to replace the stained glass
with the clear glass blocks. Although aesthetically incongruous, the current windows
represent an era in the synagogue's life.
What do you think? Should we
restore the window to its opening-day grandeur, or leave the windows from the
1940s to reveal the history? Email
us and let us know your opinion.
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RESTORATION
PHILOSOPHY