10. One of the Bimah Chairs is Original
Originally, the bimah had four armchairs that were designed by Fernbach and matched the ornateness of the rest of the synagogue interior. As described by one of the synagogue’s archivist Anne Mininberg, who also accompanied our tour, “The carving on the crest rail of the chairs replicates the designs surrounding their setting on the bimah. The alternating interlaced leaf pattern directly relates to the motifs on the cast-iron columns of the bimah arch, the carving on the wood ark columns and on the ark doors.”
In 2009, three of the four chairs were gifted to different museums, one to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, one to the American Museum of Jewish History in Philadelphia; and one to Yeshiva University Museum in New York. The last one remains on the bimah as a testament to the original.
Check out our next explorations for Untapped New York Insiders!
