EASTERN PARKWAY
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770
EASTERN PARKWAY
Crown Heights, New York
Known as simply 770, the spiritual center of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement. It attracts thousands of visitors from around the world every year.
Architect, Edwin Kline, designed this three story red brick Gothic Revival and it was built in the 1930s originally as a residence and doctor's office. The architectural design has been replicated by spiritual followers in dozens of locations across the globe.
In 1940, the building was purchased by the Chabad-Lubavitch movement as a new world headquarters and as a home for the Grand Rabbi Yosef Yitzchok Schneersohn, who fled from Europe to New York. Rabbi Schneersohn was paralyzed and required a wheelchair when he arrived in the United States. A building with an elevator needed to be purchased for his use as both a home and a synagogue.
As the Lubavitch movement grew in the United States, the original synagogue became too small for those who came to pray and study there. The synagogue was expanded in several stages beginning in late 1960s, and again in the mid 70s, and in 1988 Rabbi Schneersohn laid a cornerstone for an ongoing renovation project.
The building is recognized as an Orthodox Jewish synagogue, which is open to all people, with a men's section on the ground floor and a women's section on the floor above it. On the Shabbat and holidays, smaller prayer groups can be found congregating throughout the building.
October 1, 2021: While the architectural design of my grandfather's building is highly revered by the Chabad-Lubavitch movement, there is no mention of his name; that is, until now. A few months ago, Andrew Silverstein, a journalist, contacted me about 770 Eastern Parkway. He was interested in writing an article about how 770 became the world's most-recognizable Jewish building. His article was published in the "Forward," a non-religious Jewish magazine. Have a look. It's definitely worth the read. https://forward.com/culture/474642/how-770-eastern-parkway-chabad-lubavitch-rebbe-schneerson-history-jewish/ On November 4, 2021, Forward culture editor Adam Langer; photographers Andrea Robbins and Max Becher; Andrew Silverstein, journalist and founder of Streetwise NYC Tours; and Eli Meltzer, the architect of the 770 replica in El Paso, Texas; joined together as panelists to discuss how the replicas vary and the processes behind designing and photographing "the most copied Jewish building in the world" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fC_Z-nXEQVo&ab_channel=Forward
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