Congregation Darech Amuno

53 Charles Street | West Village | built 1917

Open on the map6 entries

The lot about 1940
About 1940. Via 1940s.nyc
The lot about 1985
About 1985. Via 80s.nyc

The city photographed every building for its tax records around 1940 and again in the 1980s. NYC Municipal Archives.

Written with AI from the source each entry cites, then fact-checked.

  1. 1867

    George Starr builds a row of three town houses, one of them on this lot

    Before the synagogue, Starr built a row of three brick town houses in 1866 or 1867, and this lot held one of them. He first lived next door at the corner, then made his home here. He lived here in the 1870s while he served as Commissioner of Emigration. This was an earlier building on the site.

    Source: NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission

  2. 1912

    Congregation Darech Amuno, founded 1838 and long on the move, buys a town house on Van Nest Place

    Established in 1838, the congregation had moved from Greene Street to Sixth Avenue, Seventh Avenue, Bleecker Street and West 4th Street. In 1912 it bought a late-1860s house at what was then 2 Van Nest Place. The Orthodox group was known for providing free burials for needy Jews at the Mokom Sholom Cemetery in Jamaica, Queens.

    Source: Daytonian in Manhattan

  3. 1917

    Sommerfeld & Steckler's remodeling turns the house into a Roman-style synagogue

    Architects Sommerfeld & Steckler gutted the town house in a five-year renovation and gave it a cream-colored brick front trimmed in limestone. It has a pediment, brick pilasters, a large stained-glass rose window and a fanlight over the entrance. Steep steps lead to the recessed entrance so that the facade can reach the sidewalk. A very similar synagogue went up on Stanton Street at the same time.

    Source: Daytonian in Manhattan

  4. 1936

    June 7

    The Times reports that Van Nest Place is gone and the synagogue is now 53 Charles Street

    The block's north side had been called Van Nest Place after the old Van Nest estate, with its own house numbers. The New York Times reported on June 7, 1936 that the name would be dropped and the houses renumbered 59 to 51 Charles Street. It identified No. 53 as the synagogue of Congregation Darech Amuno, organized in 1838.

    Source: Daytonian in Manhattan

  5. 2001

    The Village Voice gives the synagogue its "Best Bluegrass in a Synagogue" award

    By 2011 the little Orthodox synagogue was best known for American roots music played in its narrow basement social room. A trio led by the mandolinist Andy Statman has appeared there hundreds of times, and the Voice gave the congregation its bluegrass award in 2001. The president, Herman, served watermelon and bourbon at intermission.

    Source: Daytonian in Manhattan

  6. 2020

    September

    Herman Lowenhar, the synagogue's longtime president who hosted its concerts, dies at 86

    Herman Lowenhar, the synagogue's longtime president, died in September 2020 at age 86. A music lover with roots in the Village beatnik scene, he led the synagogue to a reputation for lively bluegrass and jazz concerts, serving bourbon and slivovitz to audiences. After World War II the congregation had also welcomed European refugees, among them Nathan Steiman, who survived the Holocaust thanks to Oscar Schindler.

    Source: thevillagesun.com

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