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g. congregation beth haknesseth etz chaim anshe wolozin (Synagogue of the Tree of Life, People of Wolozin) (Repurposed to Residential Use) 209 Madison Street (between Rutgers and Jefferson Streets) 127 when the first edition of The Synagogues of New York’s Lower East Side was published in 1978, this congregation , or more accurately, this chevra, was teetering on the verge of extinction despite a long existence on the Lower East Side. Unwilling to give up theiridentity of origin, many disparate groups joined togetherto create what they hoped would be a more viable congregation. Particularly after World War II, many of these remaining double-named groups—congregations that, in merging, preserved the names of both congregations—then either continued to merge with other congregations or closed their doors forever . Such was the case with the chevra Beth Haknesseth Etz Chaim Anshe Wolozin, which had traced its roots to the shtetlofWolozin,Poland,andmanagedtosurviveforalmost one hundred years. Sadly having closed its doors, this was thelastsurvivingsynagogueonMadisonStreet,whereonce there had been a numberof others. The building was converted to residences in 1993. The 1886 building was originally built as the Madison Street Mission—a descendant of the First Mariners MethodistEpiscopalChurch,builtonCherryStreetin1844. The mission closed in 1894. The building’s layered religious historycanstillreadilybeidentifiedfromthesurvivinglarge circularframe on the façade, indicating the formerpresence of a stained glass “wheel” or“rose” window. 18317-Wolfe_Synagogues 9/24/12 12:05 PM Page 127 128 the “lost” or endangered synagogues Building before it was converted 18317-Wolfe_Synagogues 9/24/12 12:05 PM Page 128 ...

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