Interesting site: http://www.orchardstreetshul-artistsproject.org/

Exhibition: December 6 2009 - January 31, 2010
This collaborative effort will result in an invitational exhibition to be held at The John Slade Ely House in New Haven, Connecticut in opening on December 6, 2009, and continuing through January 31 2010, additionally supported through an exhibition catalogue. The exhibition will be a collision of history and art in which the past unfolds the present to reveal what the future may hold for the OS and its neighborhood.

Addressing the adjacent empty land next to the synagogue in a way that connects it to the street, as well as the old Scranton Street school might be a way of encouraging investment into the historic building. That lot could either become a plaza, a small park or maybe even build-able with a structure that connects the two institution buildings with each other and the residential neighborhood. That lot is a perfect place to allow people to gather and appreciate the two magnificent buildings on either side. Right now the current usage as an empty lot and a narrow driveway seems to do little to relate to the street and the community and only disconnects things at the expense of residents. So instead of having a negative impact it could have a positive one, even with some simple landscaping that might eventually evolve into something else. But it is imperative that the synagogue be restored and occupied.

This is the only structure of its kind in the Greater New Haven area and absolutely needs to be preserved. It is one of the few remaining remembrances of the old Legion Avenue/Oak Street neighborhood that was home to so many people who helped build New Haven into the great city it is today. It is still in use, yet in need of great repair. An effort is underway to raise funds and public awareness of the importance this building is to us and to the future.

Yes - the building is a treasure that needs to be saved!

Interesting article on the Shul: http://newhavenindependent.org/archives/2008/10/orchard_street_1.php

It was operational until 1990.

Can someone confirm which entity officially "owns" the Shul? I would like to contact them regarding this issue.

The Orchard Street Shul is still owned by the original congregation, "Beth Israel". You can contact them through:
info@orchardstreetshul.org

Jonathan,

Great to have local residents weigh in.

Can you post a sketch that illustrates the concept you've described for these lots?

It might be hard for some to picture if they aren't as familiar with your neighborhood.

Mark

About neighboring Route 34: "Now it's just a tract of grass, no memory at all. No markers. It's like a cemetery- where the Jewish community is buried."

From a fantastic Google Maps-based project that Lisa Link, a web designer at UMass Boston, sent to me:

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msa=0&msid=111671120397906118317.0004754fbee7ca270eb12&ved=0CAwQmwU&ei=B5jOSrryGZXOyQSaxszqCQ&ie=UTF8&source=embed&ll=41.306182,-72.934628&spn=0.01657,0.028367&z=15

Some quick ideas I had for the vacant lot that might help the block:

Plan for a plaza & mixed use housing complex:

Perspective showing the Plaza and Housing Complex:

Rowhouses and rear green space in plan:

Perspective showing rowhouses that are facing Orchard Street:

Plan of a mixed use public building and traditional housing:

Perspective showing public building facing Orchard:

The plaza and apartment images are not based on the reality of the site. What is there is a very small parking lot -- very small. Some one took a distorted picture and multiplied the size of the lot by 4. Go look!

I suggest that these images are doing the opposite of what I think is intended. Instead of contributing to saving a building, they look like it is going to be torn down. At first glace I thought that they did just that - tear down a historic building, and put in a plaza! Wow!

Focus on the site plans, not the renderings -- I agree the distorted perspectives are a bit difficult to understand but the site plans are accurate and show that the existing building could be complemented by these types of urban interventions.

These represent a planning period of about 15 minutes, the real thing takes years to design. The perspectives are rough, and improperly scaled, they serve only to give a general idea of the space.

There is no room there for a building - the lot is only a tiny, tiny parking lot. Drive by the space sometime!

The parking lot is tiny - not large enough for one house. Also, the lot is needed for off-street parking when events are held at the Shul, since there are houses up and down the block with cars parked in their spaces.

"Also, the lot is needed for off-street parking when events are held at the Shul"

The point of putting housing on the site would be to encourage people who use the Shul to live near it. Therefore not requiring use of a car at all...

"Drive by the space sometime!"

I walk by there frequently and get a much better sense of the space than someone who is in a car. I am also very familiar with the Scranton Street School because my pediatric doctor's office is in there.

People are completely missing the point of these images. Something has to be done to this site. The parking garage that shines light into people's bedrooms has to go, the driveway along the side of the school has to go, route 34 has to go, Scranton Street has to be fixed, the neighborhood has to be rejuvenated, and the Shul has to be renovated. This could occur by making the lot between the school and the Shul usable. If it were a plaza, people would gather there, and there would be an incentive to fix up the surrounding buildings. The images are in no way a proposal for the use of the site, I came up with them in 15 minutes and then threw together some google maps images and photographs.

Attached is the existing site conditions. There is a lot of underused space.

This is the recommended usable space to be acquired from the site after getting rid of the eyesores, underused structures, and obsolete, unneccessary garage.

Excellent map, Jonathan. That's very helpful.

The idea of keeping the adjacent site as a parking lot is somewhat absurd. There is plenty of on-street parking in the neighborhood and another enormous garage was recently built a couple blocks away.

We need to reconnect our neighborhoods and make them livable, attractive places to walk -- that means having a continuous streetwall, not having them be pockmarked with random parking lots.

I go past the old Synagogue to take my child to Dr. Appts. and I can't help but point out the historical building and to remind him of his Jewish heritage...it's just a shame that it looks so left behind and forgotten. Renovate! Make it useful!

An exhibit on the cultural heritage of the building opens tomorrow in New Haven. Visit this page for a preview:
http://culturalheritageartistsproject.org/gallery.html

An Article about this was in the New Haven Independent today: http://www.newhavenindependent.org/archives/2009/12/herb_croog_actu.php

Is anyone actually connected with the Shul following this thread? If so, please contact me. We'd love to add this to our neighborhood revitalization conversations. The Shul property is included on the Route 34 West MDP map and also sits within the West River NRZ. It should be an asset to our community showcasing our religious and cultural diversity. It would be wonderful to have this place of worship and history back online.

kevin@westrivernsc.org

It would be really great to hold a community conversation involving the leadership of the shul, the Jewish Historical Society of GNH, the West River NRZ and other local stakeholders and interested parties... I would be happy to help arrange this meeting

Is the building being saved or are owners just sitting on it waiting for something to happen?

The Orchard Street Shul is a nonprofit membership organization and is trying to raise the $$ to get the building repaired -- unfortunately they've been trying to raise the $$ for many years without much success, and their lack of success has created some controversy about whether the current leaders are the right folks for the job...and the controversy has in turn made fundraising more difficult. A bit of a vicious cycle. Unfortunately the issue is somewhat time-sensitive as most of the members are over 80 and the building's roof could collapse at any moment.

Orchard Street Shul is experiencing a rebirth - the recent art project and community support have had a large part in making this a reality. Keep faith and prayers that the Shul will succeed in its revival. There is a new President and Board of Directors. If you'd like to be placed on the Shul's mailing list, send your name, address, phone, and email to info@orchardstreetshul.org.

This is great! I will be sending my info to get on the list. There are several of us who live and work in the West River neighborhood banding together to make our community stronger and more vibrant. I'm hoping we can figure out we can work together with the board to bring back this community asset.

info@westrivernsc.org

Slowly, things are improving. There are now regularly organized services at the synagogue. I'm a regular attendee (so I cannot speak on behalf of the synagogue), and I live in the area. It would be wonderful if perhaps some of the members could get involved in the larger revitalization of the community.

I have never visited the synagogue but i have to admit I was always curious as to how it looked inside. I looked at all the pictures and this is a beautiful structure that SHOULD be preserved. It's definitely a piece of history.

The synagogue is now restored and fully functional. Not only is there a growing congregation and weekly services (along with many other events), but the physical structure has been completely restored, both inside and out.

Anyone interested in learning more can visit the congregation's website at www.orchardstreetshul.org .

Thank you for closing my issue! It's great to see the structure has been preserved and is again in use.

Any chance we could get a couple photos of the restoration added here? That'd be great!

Thanks for fixing this issue!