Congregation Agudath Shalom
Encyclopedia
Congregation Agudath Shalom, also known as the Walnut Street Synagogue or the Walnut Street Shul, is an historic Jewish synagogue
at 145 Walnut Street in Chelsea, Massachusetts
.
It is the oldest surviving synagogue in Chelsea, a city that was one-third Jewish at the time the synagogue was built.
The synagogue possesses a "remarkable" series of wall and ceiling frescoes painted by Jewish immigrant artists. The "magnificent" cared Torah Ark was created by a noted Boston-area cabinetmaker who specialized in synagogue furniture, San Katz, in the 1920s.
The synagogue was added to the National Register of Historic Places
in 1993.
Synagogue
A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...
at 145 Walnut Street in Chelsea, Massachusetts
Chelsea, Massachusetts
Chelsea is a city in Suffolk County, Massachusetts, United States directly across the Mystic River from the city of Boston. It is the smallest city in Massachusetts in land area, and the 26th most densely populated incorporated place in the country.-History:...
.
History
The congregation was founded in 1887. The present building was erected in 1909, one year after the great fire that destroyed a third of the buildings in the city. The architect was Harry Dustin Joll. The congregation's previous building was destroyed in the great fire.It is the oldest surviving synagogue in Chelsea, a city that was one-third Jewish at the time the synagogue was built.
The synagogue possesses a "remarkable" series of wall and ceiling frescoes painted by Jewish immigrant artists. The "magnificent" cared Torah Ark was created by a noted Boston-area cabinetmaker who specialized in synagogue furniture, San Katz, in the 1920s.
The synagogue was added to the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 1993.