Always a Unique Location
Boneyards'
Home Base in Philadelphia: Jewish
immigrants from Eastern Europe and beyond
crowded South Philadelphia in the 1880s.
They pushed south from the original "Jewish
Quarter" near South Street, opening Jewish
schools, hospitals and some 140 synagogues
along the way. In 1909 Orthodox members
of Shivtei
Yeshuron-Ezras Israel became
tenants in a former storefront on the
corner of South 4th and Emily Streets.
In 1914 they bought the building and members
of the congregation completed most of the
renovations themselves. Today it is
virtually unchanged. Similar to New York
City's Lower East Side Tenement Museum, the
synagogue is a living memorial to
turn-of-the-century immigrant life in
Philadelphia. An active core group of
congregants continues to hold monthly
services in the synagogue, fondly nicknamed
"the little shul," and hopes to keep it alive
as a religious, historical, artistic and
cultural center in the
neighborhood. BONEYARDS
was the first Philly Fringe
show to take place here, and we are thrilled
to still be calling it our permanent home.