Brooklyn, New York (1910)
The Building:
Congregation Beth Elohim, also known as the Garfield Temple and the Eighth Avenue Temple, is a Reform Jewish congregation located in the Park Slope neighborhood of Brooklyn. In 1910, construction was completed on the new synagogue with a dome-capped sanctuary seating 1,500. The structure was designed and built by the Manhattan architectural firm of Simon Eisendrath and B. Horowitz.
The building is an excellent example of “austere neo-Classical grandeur” with five sides representing the five books of Moses. Carved in stone over the entrance is the Biblical verse fragment “MINE HOUSE SHALL BE AN HOUSE OF PRAYER FOR ALL PEOPLE”. The building is listed as a New York City Landmark and is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Project Synopsis:
HPCS USA was contacted after a rather large (approx. 100 sq. ft.) section of plaster fell from its wood lath substrate. HPCS’s assessment of the plaster on the attic side of the ceiling revealed serious and widespread deterioration that urgently needed to be stabilized. Engineering firm Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates were called upon to review the assessment and concurred with all of the report’s findings.
10,000 square feet of the plaster on wood lath ceiling was stabilized with the three-step HPCS plaster consolidation treatment system and products. In addition, areas of lost plaster (which had occurred over the years) were re-plastered by HPCS USA craftsmen.
