The Walnut Street Synagogue, home of Congregation Agudas Sholom, has been serving the community in the same building at the corner of Walnut and Fourth Streets since 1909. In a community that once had eighteen synagogues and had the highest density of Jews per square mile in America outside of New York City, the Walnut Street Synagogue is the oldest remaining synagogue and one of two that remain. The synagogue was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1993.
Eastern Europe Jews started to arrive in Chelsea in the late 1800s to escape persecution from pogroms. Beginning in 1887, they met for prayer in private homes. The first group evolved into Congregation Ohabei Shalom which later merged with Congregations Agudas Achim and Beth Hamidrash Hagadol to form Congregation Agudas Sholom in the first decade of the 1900s. Their nearly completed synagogue was destroyed by the Great Fire of 1908.
The present building was built at the same site one year later and was designed by architect Harry Dustin Joll. When it opened, it was thought to be the largest synagogue in New England with a seating capacity of 1,109 in the second and third floor sanctuary and it earned the nickname “Queen of Synagogues.” The sanctuary possesses a remarkable series of wall and ceiling frescoes painted by Jewish immigrant artists. The second floor houses men’s seating, the bimah, and the magnificent carved wooden ark, built by noted Boston-area cabinetmaker Sam Katz. The third floor houses the women’s gallery with seating nearly equal to that in the men’s section. The first floor houses the daily minyan and Shabbat chapels along with a kitchen.
BRIEF SYNANGOGUE AND CHELSEA JEWISH TIMELINE
1864 – First Jewish resident of Chelsea, Nathan Morse, arrives
1887 – First gathering for services takes place at the home of Monas Berlin (evolved into Congregation Ohabei Shalom on Cherry Street)
1890 – Talmud Torah (forerunner of Chelsea Hebrew School) opens at 23 Medford Street
1891 – Chelsea Hebrew Ladies Charitable Society (became Jewish Family Society) is incorporated
1897 – Chelsea Hebrew School moves to Winnisimmet Street
1899 – Chelsea Charitable Hebrew Loan Association (became Chelsea Free Loan Association) is incorporated
1900 – Chevra Kadisha of Chelsea is incorporated
1901 – Land at Walnut and Fourth Streets is purchased for synagogue
1903 – Chelsea YMHA and YMHA opens
1908 – Great Chelsea Fire (building under construction destroyed)
1909 – Congregation Agudas Shalom formed from merger of Ohabei Shalom, Agudas Achim and Beth Hamidrash Hagadol
1909-11 – Current building is constructed, with four floors and 1,109 seats in sanctuary
1915 – Future Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis delivers keynote address for national conference of the American Federation of Zionists before a crowd of 5,000 on Everett Avenue
1916 – Bikur Cholim is formed
1919 – Chelsea Jewish Nursing Home opens on Lafayette Street
1925 – Chelsea Hebrew School (AKA Chelsea-Revere Hebrew School) opens on Washington Avenue
1930 – Bellingham Lodge, Knights of Pythias, is formed
1933 – Torf Funeral Services opens
1937 – Chelsea Hebrew School Ladies Auxiliary is formed
1941 – Or Israel Talmudic Academy is founded
1941 – Walnut Street Synagogue’s cemetery is dedicated in Everett
1944 – Mortgage for synagogue at 145 Walnut Street is burned
1973 – Another Chelsea fire damages much of city
1979 – Chelsea Hebrew School closes
1983 – YMHA/YWHA closes
1993 – Restored Walnut Street Synagogue is rededicated after two-year fundraising campaign
1997 – Florence Cohen Levine Estates opens on Admirals Hill
2010 – Leonard Florence Center for Living opens on Admirals Hill
Timeline Source: Founders’ Day Program Book (pages 14-15)