Beth Israel Synagogue, New Haven

Beth Israel, also known as the Orchard Street Shul is a synagogue in New Haven. The congregation was founded in 1913 by an orthodox congregation that was formed in 1913 by Jewish families who had prospered sufficiently to move beyond the neighborhood of first immigrant settlement around Oak and Lafayette Streets to the area of upper Oak Street (renamed Legion Avenue in 1928) and Winthrop Avenue.

First meeting in leased space, in 1915, the congregation moved into a remodeled house at 147 Orchard Street. In 1923 they purchased a lot at 232 Orchard Street for $12,000 (today $164,000) and built the present Colonial revival style building in 1925. The architect was Louis Abramowitz and the builder was C. Abbadessa. By the late twentieth century, the membership was elderly, the Jewish population of the city had moved elsewhere, and the future of the synagogue was in doubt. Efforts to preserve the synagogue are organized by the Cultural Heritage Artists Project. The synagogue was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1995.