[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 68 (Thursday, May 17, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E834-E835]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 STATEMENT OF CONGRESSWOMAN ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON 125TH ANNIVERSARY OF 
            THE OLDEST SYNAGOGUE IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

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                       HON. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON

                        of district of columbia

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 17, 2001

  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate the Jewish 
Historical Society of Greater Washington on the 125th anniversary of 
the oldest synagogue in the District of Columbia. The Society is housed 
in the synagogue structure along with the Lillian and Albert Small 
Jewish Museum. The historic synagogue is listed on the National 
Register of Historic Places and the D.C. Inventory of Historic Sites.
  The original dedication ceremonies took place on Friday, June 9, 1876 
with President Ulysses S. Grant and Acting Vice President Ferry in 
attendance. Over the years the building has gone from being a synagogue 
to a church to a bicycle shop to a barber and a sandwich carryout.
  In 1969, the Society saved the building from demolition by moving it 
from its original location at Sixth and G Streets Northwest, to make 
way for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority's 
headquarters, to the corner where it permanently sits at 701 Third 
Street, Northwest.
  The Society is a nonprofit organization aimed at chronicling and 
preserving the Washington area's rich Jewish community history. The 
Society brings the community's past to life

[[Page E835]]

through museum exhibits, tours, lectures and children's educational 
programs.
  Without the Society's work, our nation's capital would have lost an 
important part of its past. Through their work to preserve the 
synagogue they have also saved an important Washington landmark. The 
Jewish Historical Society of Greater Washington should be commended for 
their tireless work and dedication to the history and therefore, the 
future, of both the District of Columbia's secular and Jewish 
communities.

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