Congregation B'nai Jeshurun

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High Street, now known as MLK Boulevard, was once an epicenter of jewish culture in the city. The corner of the Boulevard and Muhammed Ali Avenue holds one of the finest religious structures ever constructed within the boundaries of Newark. However, the story goes back even further than the landmark structure might lead you to assume. 

The B'nai Jeshurun congregation established Newarks first synagague in 1858. The building that we see today wasn't built until almost 60 years later though. The architect chosen in 1915 for the new temple was Albert S. Gotleib. The building rose up from the ground made of mighty brick and limestone. The inside of the temple was adorned with marble and Gustavino acoustical tile. 

The congregation left the city in favor of South Orange, and then moved again to Short Hills in 1968. The Hopewell Baptist church moved into the building, and continued to use it until 2017. We visited this incredible building before it got popular amongst the instagram tourist crowd. As a result, we had no idea what to expect as we descended the stairs towards the sanctuary. As we got close we heard someone sweeping up the corridor between us and the doorway we needed to walk through. I peeked around the corner and saw who it was; a lone man who didnt seem too much older than me. I called over to him and told him we didn't mean to bother him and that we just wanted a few photos of the building. After a brief moment of panic he welcomed us through, telling us he was just cleaning up the room he was going to be staying in. He also seemed mildly concerned, and told us that there are several other folks inside who might not be as cool with us. We took our photos quickly and went to head out but struck up another conversation with him on the way. Turns out he was just trying to find a good deserted place he and all his friends to live in while they worked out their demons. The most suprising thing of all was that he started talking about some YouTube videos of local abandoned places that he used to watch. Videos that I made 10 years ago. It was one of the most bizzare moments I've ever experienced.

Eventually the squatters were evicted and work started to bring the building back to life. For whatever reason the new owners stripped out all the pews and the original woodwork to replace them with cheap poplar. Thankfully that seems to be the only major change made to the main structure. The building hasn't reopened yet, but New Jersey Jewish News released an [article](https://njjewishnews.timesofisrael.com/renovating-bnai-jeshurun/) that shows the new furnishings. I'm so grateful to be able to end this story on a happy note since the building was definitely facing an uncertain future. Thankfully now the building will go on to serve the city for decades more.