Arch Street Theater flyer. The Arch Street Theater, founded in 1898, was not the first Yiddish theater in Philadelphia but was one of the largest until it closed in 1936. Courtesy of Philadelphia Jewish Archives Center in Urban Archives of Temple University Libraries, Philadelphia, PA.
Arch Street Theater 1923. Home of Yiddish theater in Philadelphia. 1909-1936. Courtesy of the New York Public Digital Library.
Mayer Sulzberger. Sulzberger (1843-1923), a Philadelphia lawyer and judge, was one of the most prominent national Jewish leaders of his era. Courtesy of Philadelphia Jewish Archives Center in Urban Archives of Temple University Libraries, Philadelphia, PA.
75th Anniversary of the Hebrew Sunday School Society. The Hebrew Sunday School Society was founded by Rebecca Gratz in 1838 to provide basic Jewish education to children with no background in Jewish subjects. Courtesy of Philadelphia Jewish Archives Center in Urban Archives of Temple University Libraries, Philadelphia, PA.
Portrait of Rebecca Gratz by Thomas Sully. Rebecca Gratz (1781-1869), member of a wealthy Philadelphia family, organized and led Jewish institutions to help the poor. In addition, Gratz created the Hebrew Sunday School Society, the first Jewish school in the US to provide a Jewish education in a Sunday morning format. Courtesy of Rosenbach Museum and Library, Philadelphia, PA.
Dedication of the Holocaust Memorial, 17th Street and the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia, April 26, 1964. Sculpted by Nathan Rapoport, it is the site of the annual community-wide memorial service for the Holocaust martyrs. Courtesy of the Urban Archives, Temple University Libraries, Philadelphia, PA.
West Philadelphia Tailor shop c. 1900. Courtesy of the Urban Archives, Temple University Libraries, Philadelphia, PA.
Sanctuary of Rodeph Shalom, Philadelphia, PA. Congregation Rodeph Shalom founded in 1795 is the first Ashkenazic congregation in the Western Hemisphere. The current building, one of the only synagogues in the United States that retains the Byzantine-Moorish style, was erected in 1928. Courtesy of Rodeph Shalom.
Anti-Nazi demonstration in front of Philadelphia’s City Hall just prior to America’s entry into World War II. Courtesy of Philadelphia Jewish Archives Center in Urban Archives of Temple University Libraries, Philadelphia, PA.
Soviet Jewry Protest at the Liberty Bell, April 1979. Courtesy of Philadelphia Jewish Archives Center in Urban Archives of Temple University Libraries, Philadelphia, PA.
Haym Salomon. Sketch (bust) by C. Noar. Salomon played an important role as a broker, helping to supply and finance the Revolutionary War. Courtesy of the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration. In the public domain.
Gratz College Graduation 1918. Founded in 1895, Gratz College served as a Hebrew Teachers’ College. Currently it is a general college of Jewish studies. Courtesy of Philadelphia Jewish Archives Center in Urban Archives of Temple University Libraries, Philadelphia, PA.
Soviet Jewry Demonstration, a Simhat Torah Rally at Philadelphia’s City Hall, circa 1980. Courtesy of the Urban Archives, Temple University Libraries, Philadelphia, PA.
The Alfred W. Fleisher Memorial Synagogue, located in Eastern State Penitentiary, was almost certainly the first synagogue built in an American prison. Completed in 1924 and used continuously until the penitentiary closed in 1970, the synagogue had fallen into near total ruin after the penitentiary’s abandonment as this photo taken around 1996 reveals. Courtesy of Eastern State Penitentiary. Photographer: uncredited.
The restored Alfred W. Fleisher Memorial Synagogue in the Eastern State Penitentiary, Philadelphia, PA. The synagogue, restored to its 1960 appearance, marks the first truly refurbished space in the Eastern State Penitentiary, Spring 2009. Courtesy of Eastern State Penitentiary. Photographer Andrew Fearon.
Zionist Rally in Reyburn Plaza Protest 1947. Over 5,000 Philadelphians protested at City Hall’s Reyburn Plaza on July 20, 1947 against British brutality in the Exodus ship incident. Courtesy of the Urban Archives, Temple University Libraries, Philadelphia, PA.
Portrait of Isaac Leeser. Isaac Leeser (1806-1868) became the hazan of Mikveh Israel in Philadelphia in 1829. Lesser devoted his life to finding ways to unite the diverse population of Jews in the United States. He introduced English in services, published religious education textbooks, prayer books, and the Bible in English, and established new Jewish educational institutions. Courtesy of the Library of Congress. In the public domain.
Simhat Torah Rally for Soviet Jewry. October 17, 1970. With over 5,000 participants, this was the largest of more than 50 rallies held throughout the United States on that same day. Courtesy of the Urban Archives, Temple University Libraries, Philadelphia, PA.
Jewish shops on Fourth and Morris, Philadelphia, PA. In the first half of the twentieth century, South Fourth Street was a bustling marketplace, a lifeline that ran through the immigrant Jewish community. Courtesy of the Urban Archives, Temple University Libraries, Philadelphia, PA.
Soviet Jewry Rally down Ben Franklin Parkway, December 17, 1979. In New York on the same day the Student Struggle for Soviet Jewry (SSSJ) held a similar Chanukah “Flames of Freedom” rally. Courtesy of the Urban Archives, Temple University Libraries, Philadelphia, PA.
