Congregation Mikveh Israel is the oldest Jewish congregation in Philadelphia and second oldest in the United States. The building at 44 N 4th St is Mikveh Israel's 5th building. The first two were at 3rd and Cherry St. The first opened in 1782. William Strickland designed the 2nd Mikveh Israel Synagogue, an Egyptian Revival building, which was completed in 1825. The 3rd was designed by John McArthur Jr (who would later design City Hall) and stood where the African American Museum in Philadelphia now stands. The 4th building, designed by the NYC firm of Pilcher and Tachau, still exists and is at the SE corner of Broad and York St in N. Philly.
The 4th St. building was proposed as early as 1953, when many of their congregants began leaving North Philly. Though once boasting a large Jewish population with numerous synagogues, North Philadelphia was rapidly changing. Mikveh Israel was one of the only ones that didn't follow Philadelphia Jewish families out to the suburbs. Around the same time, many blocks of largely 19th century buildings were being demolished to make way for Independence Mall. Newly cleared land was made available for development.
Mikveh Israel decided that a move to this new renewal area would not only place them back in their original neighborhood, but also cement their presence with all the visitors that would one day arrive there. They hired Louis Magaziner, a well regarded Philadelphia architect, who designed them a new building even before they knew exactly where it was going to be located. After spending the rest of the 50s fighting over whether to move to Independence Mall or to the burbs, Mikveh Israel finally went ahead and purchased a plot of land on the future Mall.
By this point, Louis Kahn was brought in to design the new building. Kahn spent 9 years with 10 re-designs and by 1970, the synagogue had rejected his 5 million dollar design. The Congregation then hired the successor firm of Paul Phillipe Cret, now called H2L2, to do yet another design, which would finally get built in 1975-76.
Mikveh Israel actually traces its roots to September 25, 1740, when Thomas Penn (Wm. Penn's son) authorized a burial ground at Spruce Street (between 8th and 9th Streets) meant to be a permanent burial ground for the entire Jewish community of Philadelphia. The Mikveh Israel Burial Ground still stands, just across from Pennsylvania Hospital.
1st bldg, 3rd & Cherry 7th & Arch Bldg. Interior
N. Broad St building
Burial grounds entrance gate
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