Eastern State Penitentiary Synagogue

Eastern State Penitentiary

October 2011

                                   

Synagogue

1928-9

Plywood and Stone

Alfred W. Fleisher

            Instead of an individual object, this week I chose to write about an entire space.  The synagogue at Eastern State Penitentiary (ESP) is a religious room built out off a converted exercise yard space.  ESP was a solitary confinement prison opened in 1829 with a growing population of Jewish inmates.  During the 1920’s after solitary confinement was abolished, a synagogue was built on site so that the Jewish inmates could observe holidays and pray.  This was the first prison synagogue and its presence would have been very important to a religious Jew.  With the help of Alfred W. Fleisher, President of the Board of Trustees, this sacred space became available to fulfill the religious needs of inmates.   

            In 1971 ESP was closed and began to fall into a state of disrepair.  Once open as a museum/historic site, the Synagogue presented itself to staff as a major conservation project, one that they eagerly took on.  There were 6 inches of debris from the ceiling covering the floor, and much of the wood (originally from 1928) had become unusable.    

            The synagogue now is completely rebuilt and looks like it could be a small chapel in any synagogue today.  Original photographs that helped with the reconstruction were turned into interpretive panels and allow visitors to see the before and after images of the space as well as the space being used by inmates before 1971. 

            This space reflects a level of respect the guards had for the prisoners, and the changing times of U.S. correctional facilities.  The Synagogue could be an opportunity for ESP to continue the narrative about current issues in prison systems.  This level of respect for the humanity of inmates could be applied today.