East Midwood Jewish Center
The East Midwood Jewish Center is a Conservative synagogue located at 1625 Ocean Avenue, Midwood, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, in the United States.
| East Midwood Jewish Center | |
|---|---|
East Midwood Jewish Center in Brooklyn, in 2008 | |
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Conservative Judaism |
| Ecclesiastical or organizational status | Synagogue |
| Leadership |
|
| Status | Active |
| Location | |
| Location | 1625 Ocean Avenue, Midwood, Brooklyn, New York City, New York |
| Country | United States |
Location in Brooklyn, New York City | |
| Geographic coordinates | 40°37′21″N 73°57′20″W |
| Architecture | |
| Architect(s) |
|
| Type | Synagogue |
| Style | Renaissance Revival |
| Date established | 1924 (as a congregation) |
| Groundbreaking | 1926 |
| Completed | 1929 |
| Construction cost | $1 million (today $18 million) |
| Specifications | |
| Direction of façade | West |
| Capacity |
|
| Width | 155 feet (47 m) |
| Dome(s) | 2 |
| Materials | Steel frame, masonry, buff and red brick, limestone, copper domes |
| Website | |
| emjc | |
East Midwood Jewish Center | |
U.S. National Register of Historic Places | |
| NRHP reference No. | 06000478 |
| Added to NRHP | June 7, 2006 |
Organized in 1924, the congregation's Renaissance revival building that was completed in 1929 typified the large multi-purpose synagogue centers being built at the time, and was from the 1990s until 2010 the only synagogue with a working swimming pool in Brooklyn. The building has been unmodified architecturally since its construction, and in 2006 was added to the National Register of Historic Places.
Membership dropped during the Great Depression, and the synagogue suffered financial hardship, but it recovered, and by 1941 had 1,100 member families. In 1950 the congregation built an adjoining school; at its peak its enrollment was almost 1,000. As neighborhood demographics changed in the late 20th century, and Brooklyn's Jewish population became more Orthodox, the East Midwood Jewish Center absorbed three other Conservative Brooklyn congregations.
The East Midwood Jewish Center had only three rabbis from its founding until 2014. Reuben Kaufman served from 1924 to 1929, Harry Halpern from 1929 to 1977 and Alvin Kass from 1976 to 2014. In 2014, Matt Carl became the rabbi.