Great Synagogue (Sydney)

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The Great Synagogue

The Great Synagogue front entrance in Elizabeth Street

Basic information
Location 187a Elizabeth Street, Sydney, Australia
Affiliation Orthodox Judaism
District Central Business District
Year consecrated 4 March 1878
Leadership Rabbi Jeremy Lawrence
Website http://www.greatsynagogue.org.au/index.html
Architectural description
Architect(s) Thomas Rowe, Aaron Loveridge (stonework), partly supervised by Walter Liberty Vernon
Architectural type Synagogue
Architectural style Moorish Revival, Victorian Free Gothic[1]
Direction of façade East
Completed 1883
Construction cost over £23,000[2]
Specifications
Length one hundred and forty feet
Width sixty-four feet
Materials Sandstone from the Pyrmont quarries

The Great Synagogue is a large synagogue in Sydney. It is located in Elizabeth Street opposite Hyde Park and extends back to Castlereagh Street.

Description and history

The Great Synagogue was designed by architect Thomas Rowe (who was not Jewish), and consecrated in 1878. It combines elements of Byzantine style and Gothic characteristics.[3] This grand building is often described as the "cathedral synagogue" of Australia.

The Sydney Jewish community, which dated to the earliest days of the colony, met in rented spaces before building its first synagogue, designed in Egyptian style by James Hume in 1844.[4] It was the first Egyptian Revival building in Australia.[5]

The present synagogue has the traditional feature of an elevated ladies' gallery. When first erected, the bimah was central, as is traditional. However, to increase seating capacity the bimah was moved forward to the western wall in 1906.

Over the years, extensive additions and alterations have been made to the other facilities appurtenant to this building, including the construction of a succah, excavation and construction of a large reception area below the synagogue itself, construction of the Rabbi Falk Memorial Library, installation of electricity in the chandeliers, and installation of a "shabbat" elevator.

A useful overview of the synagogue's history is provided by the recent book edited by Rabbi Raymond Apple [6]

The building is listed on the Register of the National Estate.[7]

Gallery

  • Bimah of The Great Synagogue

  • Architectural detail. This inscription reads Beth Israel (House of Israel)

  • Elizabeth Street wheeled window. Reinforced concrete spokes were added to the inside of this window during World War 2 for protection against blast damage.[1]

  • Detail of entrance


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See also

References

  1. ↑ The Great Synagogue
  2. ↑ p.7, Apple, Raymond, Rabbi, The Great Synagogue: A History of Sydney's Big Shule
  3. ↑ Welcome to the Great Synagogue, Sydney , Visiting The Great Synagogue, Sydney, 19 February 2008.
  4. ↑ http://www.greatsynagogue.org.au/history.html
  5. ↑ Diana Muir Appelbaum, "Jewish Identity and Egyptian Revival Architecture", Journal of Jewish Identities, 2012 (5(2) p. 7.
  6. ↑ Raymond Apple (Editor), "The Great Synagogue: A History of Sydney's Big Shule", UNSW Press, 2008
  7. ↑ The Heritage of Australia, Macmillan Company, 1981, p.2/99

External links

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Coordinates: 33°52′22″S 151°12′34″E / 33.87265°S 151.20947°E / -33.87265; 151.20947

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