Boston Center for Jewish Heritage

The Boston Center for Jewish Heritage has succeeded in purchasing and is now restoring the once-abandoned Vilna Shul for us as Boston's historic Jewish museum. The Shul, on Beacon Hill's North Slope, is adjacent to what was once Boston's West End. That vibrant, dense, largely Jewish nineteenth and early twentieth century neighborhood was totally lost to urban renewal roughly thirty years ago. The city's only surviving immigrant-era synagogue, the Vilna Shul is just steps from Boston's famed Freedom Trail. The Shul serves as the perfect symbol of the synthesis that is American Jewish culture. Its architecture reflects our history; its programs explore our future and the challenges facing an assimilated community. The Vilna Shul should take its rightful place alongside Boston's other famous buildings that symbolize the struggle of Americans for religious and political freedom.

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