Bialystoker Synagogue
Bialystoker Synagogue is an Orthodox Jewish house of worship on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, located at 7–11 Bialystoker Place (also known as Willett Street). The building was constructed in 1826 as the Willett Street Methodist Episcopal Church and was purchased by the Jewish community in 1905.
The congregation began in 1865 as Chevra Anshei Chesed of Bialystok, founded by Jews from the town of Białystok (then in the Russian Empire, now Poland). After meeting on Hester Street and Orchard Street, it merged in 1905 with Adas Yeshurun and formed Beth Hakneses Anshei Bialystok, later known as the Bialystoker Synagogue. The group moved into the Willett Street church, which was renamed Bialystoker Place.
The synagogue is notable as one of only a few late Federal-period fieldstone religious buildings remaining in Lower Manhattan and is the oldest building in New York City still used as a synagogue. The building’s sanctuary was beautified during the Great Depression to inspire the community.
Today it is the largest synagogue on the Lower East Side, with several daily prayer services led by Rabbi Menachem Tuchman. Architecturally, the church was built in 1826 of Manhattan schist and features round-arched windows, a pedimented roof, and three windows over three doors. The Torah Ark is believed to have been carved in Bialystok. The sanctuary includes a balcony for women, and a hidden door in the women’s gallery leads to an attic that historically served as a sanctuary for runaway slaves seeking refuge on the Underground Railroad.
In the 1980s and 1990s the interior was restored, and an adjacent former Hebrew school became The Daniel Potkorony Building. Because of landmark status, exterior changes were carefully managed; air conditioning units installed in the 1990s were placed on the building’s side. The Bialystoker Synagogue is designated a New York City Landmark (1966) and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1972.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 14:47 (CET).