HARTFORD, Conn. — The National Trust of Historic Preservation (NTHP) and the Hartford community have come together to call for the preservation of a historic synagogue, recently named one of America's most endangered historic places for 2022.
The NTHP released Wednesday a list of 11 of America's Most Endangered Historic Places, and the Deborah Chapel in the Frog Hollow neighborhood is among them. Many of the selections on the list are historically represented places, and all of the listed places are all at a turning point.
The 136-year-old building is currently owned by one of the oldest synagogues in Connecticut, Congregation Beth Israel. The Deborah Chapel has been vacant since the 1990s, and city officials said it faces demolition, as Beth Israel has applied for permission to demolish the building. Advocates are urging Beth Israel to instead work with stakeholders to find a new use for the building or have a new owner preserve the building.
"It's important to remember this chapel is a one of a kind, never to be duplicated asset of the Hartford region," said Mary Falvey, Executive Director of the Hartford Preservation Alliance during a news conference Wednesday morning.
"Religious sites are being threatened right now by demolition by neglect as well as by disinvestment," said Sara Bronin, an architect, and wife of Mayor Luke Bronin,.
She said that the decline in attendance and fewer resources contribute to the disinvestment in historical religious sites across the nation.
While the building remains empty, advocates say it is full of early American history, as Jewish people immigrated from Germany in the mid-1800s, to later find community in the Hartford area.
Some women in the immigration wave became part of The Hartford Ladies' Deborah Society, formed in 1852, which was a religious social and philanthropic organization that took ownership of the chapel after it was built in 1886. The group was the women's auxiliary of the "Holy Society" that prepared bodies for burial.
As a social group, they gave back to the community in many ways, including starting and funding the Deborah Library at Congregation Beth Israel, running a day nursery, visiting and taking care of sick people, as well as raising money and collecting donations for those in need.
"Demolishing this chapel will not only be a disservice to the community in which it sits, but it would also bring disrespect to those who call this place their final resting place," Bronin added.
Residents of Hartford see this historic building as a connection to Hartford's past, as well as a way to establish multigenerational connections in the future.
"Frog Hollow has always been a diverse, immigrant neighborhood with a rich history and...Deborah Chapel is part of that history," said Marcus Ordonez. He is a Frog Hollow resident and a member of the Friends of Zion Hill Cemetery, adjacent to the chapel.
"For those of us who live here and walk the neighborhood, It's clear that this chapel is unique and should be preserved, not erased or forgotten," Ordonez added.
"If this can become a community center, have a community use, it really strengthens that sense of one hand of a generation reaching out to the next," said Hartford City Council member Josh Michtom.
Preservation Connecticut was also in attendance, and the non-profit state-chartered organization suggested the many types of grants and resources that are available for consideration in restoring the chapel.
"I am confident that together we can devise a solution that is a win for all," said Jane Montanaro, the Executive Director of Preservation Connecticut.
Leah Myers is a digital content producer at FOX61 News. She can be reached at lmyers@fox61.com
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