Casting Shadows at B.B. Muhlfelder on Hester

It’s 10:30 pm on recent a Monday night, and Hester Street is a brisk ghost town. A few can collectors tear open trash bags at curbside, scrounging for a day’s pay; another dude is poking through the contents of his trunk. Our gaze, however, was drawn to the large window of number 70. Behind that mysterious leaf identifier of B.B. Muhlfelder, the shadow of a man sitting at what appears to be a desk. Hard at work. Banging away at what appears to be a typewriter. What thoughts is he spilling onto the page?

70 Hester Street was actually the original location of the First Roumanian-American Synagogue (aka Congregation Shaarey Shamoyim) which eventually moved to 89-93 Rivington. The building was designed by Frederick Jenth in 1881, and boasts unique Moorish-style windows.