History Hunt – Week 7 Answered

The answer to this week’s History Hunt is 126 Forsyth Street, now home to the Templo Adventista del Septimo.  Congratualtions to Diarmuid Joye for winning the prize pack of books.  Well, folks, we’ve reached the conclusion of the History Hunt series.  We would just like to reiterate our thanks to the Tenement Museum, the readers, and everyone else out there who helped make the hunting a success.

The building itself was erected in 1890 by a renowned architect named Josiah Cleveland Cody, and was a temporary home to a missionary group. Before long, a group of Lithuanian Jews from outside Vilna settled there, making it headquarters for the Chevrah Poel Zedek Anschei Illia. A renovation in 1909 brought retail storefronts, and extra money to the congregation. But by the mid-1920s, the synagogue was in decline, thanks in part to “changes in the neighborhood.” Nevertheless, the tight-knit community remained there until the 1960s when the building was finally sold.

The recap:

Clue #1: My history is written in English, Hebrew, and Spanish.  Who am I?

Clue #2: Cross the star in the main window to discover my identity.  Who am I?

Clue #3: I am a church with a nice view of the Williamsburg Bridge.  What’s my name?