Hebrew Congregation of Mountaindale Synagogue
Encyclopedia
The Hebrew Congregation of Mountaindale Synagogue is located along Sullivan County
Route 55 near the south end of the hamlet of Mountaindale
, New York, United States. It is a small stucco
building dating to 1917, expanded slightly in the 1930s. The interior is notable for its heavy use of marbleizing and other decorative touches. A 2009 traffic accident and fire caused some damage to the roof.
It is the only synagogue
in the county with its own mikvah
, or Jewish ritual bath. In 2001 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
(NRHP) as a well-preserved example of an early 20th-century vernacular
Catskill
synagogue.
two-story stucco
-faced frame
structure on a fieldstone
foundation
. Its gable
d roof has asphalt
shingling
and a wooden cornice
. A rear pavilion
, built into a hill, has a hipped roof
and a projecting center bay that houses the Torah
.
In the apex of the front gable is a round-arched window with a Star of David
. This is complemented by a similar metal finial atop the roof of the single-story front vestibule
, added later on a concrete
base scored to look like the stone on the main building. It is above the front entrance, a broken-parapet
ed roofline supported by four piers.
Double wooden doors open into the vestibule, which gives onto the sanctuary
. It is laid out in a traditional Orthodox
plan, with many of its surfaces heavily marbleized. The bimah
at the center, pew
s surrounding it on three sides facing the ark in the rear and a separate gallery for women. The windows are set in molded
wooden trim with keystone
s. The vaulted ceiling is finished in pressed metal with a decorative frieze
, and the stained glass
windows feature Hebrew
motifs.
The mikvah is located to the east of the building. It is a one-story square frame stucco building with a gabled roof. Inside it is divided into a changing room and the bath itself.
, began arriving in the Catskills
and Mountaindale in the early years of the 20th century. They either began farming the area or opening summer resorts for their co-religionists, since Jews were then excluded from existing Catskill resorts.
Enough had arrived by 1912 to form the congregation that year. In 1915 a Hebrew school
was built and construction began on the synagogue itself. It cost $5,000 ($ in 2009 dollars) to build; a benefit was held after its 1917 completion to pay off the mortgage
).
In 1930 the vestibule was added. The mikvah was built as a community project a decade later. Further renovations in the 1990s added beadboard siding inside, replaced the ark and put in new windows. At that time some of the original interior paintings were painted over as well, although they are preserved in photographs.
The synagogue and mikvah were listed on the National Register in 2001. Eight years later, a lost truck driver attempted to back up using the synagogue's small parking lot on the north side. The trailer downed some of the electrical wires along the road, some of which landed on the roof and started a fire, damaging it slightly.
Sullivan County, New York
Sullivan County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 77,547. The county seat is Monticello. The name is in honor of Major General John Sullivan, who was a hero in the American Revolutionary War...
Route 55 near the south end of the hamlet of Mountaindale
Mountaindale, New York
Mountaindale is a hamlet in the town of Fallsburg in Sullivan County, New York, United States. Situated at an altitude of 1,010 feet ....
, New York, United States. It is a small stucco
Stucco
Stucco or render is a material made of an aggregate, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as decorative coating for walls and ceilings and as a sculptural and artistic material in architecture...
building dating to 1917, expanded slightly in the 1930s. The interior is notable for its heavy use of marbleizing and other decorative touches. A 2009 traffic accident and fire caused some damage to the roof.
It is the only synagogue
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...
in the county with its own mikvah
Mikvah
Mikveh is a bath used for the purpose of ritual immersion in Judaism...
, or Jewish ritual bath. In 2001 it was listed on 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...
(NRHP) as a well-preserved example of an early 20th-century vernacular
Vernacular architecture
Vernacular architecture is a term used to categorize methods of construction which use locally available resources and traditions to address local needs and circumstances. Vernacular architecture tends to evolve over time to reflect the environmental, cultural and historical context in which it...
Catskill
Catskill Mountains
The Catskill Mountains, an area in New York State northwest of New York City and southwest of Albany, are a mature dissected plateau, an uplifted region that was subsequently eroded into sharp relief. They are an eastward continuation, and the highest representation, of the Allegheny Plateau...
synagogue.
Property
The NRHP listing includes both the synagogue and the mikvah. The former is a three-bayBay (architecture)
A bay is a unit of form in architecture. This unit is defined as the zone between the outer edges of an engaged column, pilaster, or post; or within a window frame, doorframe, or vertical 'bas relief' wall form.-Defining elements:...
two-story stucco
Stucco
Stucco or render is a material made of an aggregate, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as decorative coating for walls and ceilings and as a sculptural and artistic material in architecture...
-faced frame
Framing (construction)
Framing, in construction known as light-frame construction, is a building technique based around structural members, usually called studs, which provide a stable frame to which interior and exterior wall coverings are attached, and covered by a roof comprising horizontal ceiling joists and sloping...
structure on a fieldstone
Fieldstone
Fieldstone is a building construction material. Strictly speaking, it is stone collected from the surface of fields where it occurs naturally...
foundation
Foundation (architecture)
A foundation is the lowest and supporting layer of a structure. Foundations are generally divided into two categories: shallow foundations and deep foundations.-Shallow foundations:...
. Its gable
Gable
A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of a sloping roof. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system being used and aesthetic concerns. Thus the type of roof enclosing the volume dictates the shape of the gable...
d roof has asphalt
Asphalt
Asphalt or , also known as bitumen, is a sticky, black and highly viscous liquid or semi-solid that is present in most crude petroleums and in some natural deposits, it is a substance classed as a pitch...
shingling
Roof shingle
Roof shingles are a roof covering consisting of individual overlapping elements. These elements are typically flat rectangular shapes laid in rows from the bottom edge of the roof up, with each successive higher row overlapping the joints in the row below...
and a wooden cornice
Cornice
Cornice molding is generally any horizontal decorative molding that crowns any building or furniture element: the cornice over a door or window, for instance, or the cornice around the edge of a pedestal. A simple cornice may be formed just with a crown molding.The function of the projecting...
. A rear pavilion
Pavilion (structure)
In architecture a pavilion has two main meanings.-Free-standing structure:Pavilion may refer to a free-standing structure sited a short distance from a main residence, whose architecture makes it an object of pleasure. Large or small, there is usually a connection with relaxation and pleasure in...
, built into a hill, has a hipped roof
Hip roof
A hip roof, or hipped roof, is a type of roof where all sides slope downwards to the walls, usually with a fairly gentle slope. Thus it is a house with no gables or other vertical sides to the roof. A square hip roof is shaped like a pyramid. Hip roofs on the houses could have two triangular side...
and a projecting center bay that houses the Torah
Torah
Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five books of the bible—Genesis , Exodus , Leviticus , Numbers and Deuteronomy Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five...
.
In the apex of the front gable is a round-arched window with a Star of David
Star of David
The Star of David, known in Hebrew as the Shield of David or Magen David is a generally recognized symbol of Jewish identity and Judaism.Its shape is that of a hexagram, the compound of two equilateral triangles...
. This is complemented by a similar metal finial atop the roof of the single-story front vestibule
Vestibule (architecture)
A vestibule is a lobby, entrance hall, or passage between the entrance and the interior of a building.The same term can apply to structures in modern or ancient roman architecture. In modern architecture vestibule typically refers to a small room or hall between an entrance and the interior of...
, added later on a concrete
Concrete
Concrete is a composite construction material, composed of cement and other cementitious materials such as fly ash and slag cement, aggregate , water and chemical admixtures.The word concrete comes from the Latin word...
base scored to look like the stone on the main building. It is above the front entrance, a broken-parapet
Parapet
A parapet is a wall-like barrier at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony or other structure. Where extending above a roof, it may simply be the portion of an exterior wall that continues above the line of the roof surface, or may be a continuation of a vertical feature beneath the roof such as a...
ed roofline supported by four piers.
Double wooden doors open into the vestibule, which gives onto the sanctuary
Sanctuary
A sanctuary is any place of safety. They may be categorized into human and non-human .- Religious sanctuary :A religious sanctuary can be a sacred place , or a consecrated area of a church or temple around its tabernacle or altar.- Sanctuary as a sacred place :#Sanctuary as a sacred place:#:In...
. It is laid out in a traditional Orthodox
Orthodox Judaism
Orthodox Judaism , is the approach to Judaism which adheres to the traditional interpretation and application of the laws and ethics of the Torah as legislated in the Talmudic texts by the Sanhedrin and subsequently developed and applied by the later authorities known as the Gaonim, Rishonim, and...
plan, with many of its surfaces heavily marbleized. The bimah
Bimah
A bimah A bimah A bimah (among Ashkenazim, derived from Hebrew בּמה , almemar (from Arabic al-minbar) or tebah (among Sephardim) is the elevated area or platform in a Jewish synagogue which is intended to serve the place where the person reading aloud from the Torah stands during the Torah reading...
at the center, pew
Pew
A pew is a long bench seat or enclosed box used for seating members of a congregation or choir in a church, or sometimes in a courtroom.-Overview:Churches were not commonly furnished with permanent pews before the Protestant Reformation...
s surrounding it on three sides facing the ark in the rear and a separate gallery for women. The windows are set in molded
Molding (decorative)
Molding or moulding is a strip of material with various profiles used to cover transitions between surfaces or for decoration. It is traditionally made from solid milled wood or plaster but may be made from plastic or reformed wood...
wooden trim with keystone
Keystone (architecture)
A keystone is the wedge-shaped stone piece at the apex of a masonry vault or arch, which is the final piece placed during construction and locks all the stones into position, allowing the arch to bear weight. This makes a keystone very important structurally...
s. The vaulted ceiling is finished in pressed metal with a decorative frieze
Frieze
thumb|267px|Frieze of the [[Tower of the Winds]], AthensIn architecture the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Doric order, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Even when neither columns nor pilasters are expressed, on an astylar wall it lies upon...
, and the stained glass
Stained glass
The term stained glass can refer to coloured glass as a material or to works produced from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant buildings...
windows feature Hebrew
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
motifs.
The mikvah is located to the east of the building. It is a one-story square frame stucco building with a gabled roof. Inside it is divided into a changing room and the bath itself.
History
Jews, most of them originally immigrants from GermanyGermany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, began arriving in the Catskills
Catskill Mountains
The Catskill Mountains, an area in New York State northwest of New York City and southwest of Albany, are a mature dissected plateau, an uplifted region that was subsequently eroded into sharp relief. They are an eastward continuation, and the highest representation, of the Allegheny Plateau...
and Mountaindale in the early years of the 20th century. They either began farming the area or opening summer resorts for their co-religionists, since Jews were then excluded from existing Catskill resorts.
Enough had arrived by 1912 to form the congregation that year. In 1915 a Hebrew school
Hebrew school
Hebrew school can be either the Jewish equivalent of Sunday school - an educational regimen separate from secular education, focusing on topics of Jewish history and learning the Hebrew language, or a primary, secondary or college level educational institution where some or all of the classes are...
was built and construction began on the synagogue itself. It cost $5,000 ($ in 2009 dollars) to build; a benefit was held after its 1917 completion to pay off the mortgage
Mortgage loan
A mortgage loan is a loan secured by real property through the use of a mortgage note which evidences the existence of the loan and the encumbrance of that realty through the granting of a mortgage which secures the loan...
).
In 1930 the vestibule was added. The mikvah was built as a community project a decade later. Further renovations in the 1990s added beadboard siding inside, replaced the ark and put in new windows. At that time some of the original interior paintings were painted over as well, although they are preserved in photographs.
The synagogue and mikvah were listed on the National Register in 2001. Eight years later, a lost truck driver attempted to back up using the synagogue's small parking lot on the north side. The trailer downed some of the electrical wires along the road, some of which landed on the roof and started a fire, damaging it slightly.