TECHNICAL BRIEF
The Synagogue before and after restoration
SYNAGOGUE RESTORATION AT
EASTERN STATE PENITENTIARY
Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site - Philadelphia, PA
EASTERN STATE PENITENTIARY,
a National Historic Landmark in
Philadelphia, PA, was designed by
John Haviland and opened in 1829.
It was the first prison to use the radial
plan and exclusively house inmates
in solitary confinement. The design,
known as the Pennsylvania System,
later became the model for hundreds
of prisons worldwide. Situated along
the alley of Cellblock 7 is a synagogue
used by the small population of Jewish
inmates from the early decades of the
20th century until the prison’s closing
in 1971. Established in the early 1920s,
the synagogue was largely supported
and sustained by Alfred W. Fleisher,
then President of the Board of Trustees,
and a number of dedicated volunteers
from the local Jewish community.
Upon Fleisher’s untimely death in
1928, the Jewish inmates dedicated
the synagogue in his memory. Services
were held regularly until the prison was
shut down.
During the years that followed, the
abandoned Eastern State and its small
synagogue fell into a state of disrepair.
When Eastern State Penitentiary
Historic Site (ESPHS) reopened the
prison for tours in 1994, both the route
to the synagogue and the synagogue
itself were too dangerous to include on
15 • Sacred Places • www.sacredplaces.org • Summer 2009
the tour. Yet this compelling space
was important to re-open. The first
effort toward that goal came when
student interns from the University
of Pennsylvania researched the
history of Jewish life at Eastern State
and the origin of the synagogue.
Further student investigations
included a condition assessment
and an archaeological investigation
to recover significant artifacts. The
Synagogue Restoration Committee,
formed by ESPHS’s Board of
Directors, used this research as the
foundation to guide the restoration
plan and support the fundraising
effort for the restoration work.