Hebrew Orphan Asylum of New York
Encyclopedia
The Hebrew Orphan Asylum of New York was a Jewish orphanage
in New York City
. It was founded in 1860 by the Hebrew Benevolent Society. It closed in 1941, after pedagogical research
concluded that children thrive better in foster care or small group homes, rather than in large institutions. The successor organization is the Jewish Child Care Association.
of Edgardo Mortara
in the Papal States
galvanized the group to establish an orphanage. A dinner was held in December 1858 and raised $10,000, but a conflict between Reform
and Orthodox
Jews over the wearing of yarmulkes caused a "Tammany
-style brawl." Gentiles who were attending the dinner, including Mayor Daniel Tiemann, intervened and broke up the fight.
The practice of holding annual dinners ceased, but the Hebrew Benevolent Society did establish an orphanage, which opened in a rented three story brickhouse on Lamartine Place (now West 29th Street) in Chelsea
in 1860 with several dozen boys and girls. On each holiday the children were taken to a different synagogue, to placate the different brands of Judaism of the sponsoring organizations. During the Draft Riots, the mobs came to the very street where the orphanage was, but did not attack it, unlike the Colored Children's Orphan Asylum. In November 1863 the orphanage moved to a purpose-built home on East 77th Street near Third Avenue. In the orphanage, girls were taught domestic skills, while the boys were taught shoemaking and printing; the orphanage's printshop produced a magazine, Young Israel, to which Horatio Alger supplied a serial novel. In 1874 the organization renamed itself the "Hebrew Benefit Society and Orphan Asylum," and agreed to accept $110 a year in public funds to care for each orphan. In 1878, the organization, overwhelmed, agreed to accept only Manhattan children. This led to the formation of the Hebrew Orphan Asylum of the City of Brooklyn.
Between 1860 and 1919, some 13,500 children were admitted to the home. Few children, however, were adopted, since most were actually half-orphans, members of a family which one parent (usually the father) had deserted and which the surviving parent could not support. The asylum was used, in effect, as a boarding school.
In 1884 the Hebrew Benevolent Society constructed a large building at Amsterdam Avenue, between 136th and 138th Streets, in the Modern Renaissance style, designed by William H. Hume. The building cost $750,000 (including the land), and $60,000 a year to operate. The building eventually had a capacity of 1,755 children. It was self-sufficient enough that it was able to survive for a week on its own after it was cut off during the Blizzard of 1888
. After a dysentery outbreak in 1898, caused by impurities in the city's water supply, left seven children dead, the building installed its own water filtration system. During the influenza epidemic of 1918 not a single child in the orphanage died.
In 1915 the Child Welfare Act was passed, which granted allowances to widows. Within two years the orphanage population in the city shrank by 3,000 children as women became able to care for their children. By 1920 the orphanage was losing its position to the Pleasantville Cottage School (established 1912), which, unlike the Hebrew Orphan Asylum, was not a large institutional building but a group of cottages in a rural area. The Hebrew Orphan Asylum decided to rebuild on the cottage system on land that it owned in the Bronx; it would raise money to do this by selling the orphanage to the Yankees, who wanted land to build a rival stadium to the Polo Grounds
. This deal fell through, the Yankees instead built a stadium in the Bronx
, and the Hebrew Orphan Asylum closed in 1941.
After the Asylum closed in 1941, the building was used by City College
to house members of the U.S. Armed Forces assigned to the Army Specialized Training Program
(ASTP). From 1946 to 1955, it was used as a dormitory, library, and classroom space for the college. It was called "Army Hall" until it was demolished in 1955 and 1956 by the New York City Department of Parks, who replaced it with the Jacob H. Schiff Playground.
painting of the Hebrew Orphan Asylum was his favorite work and was found in his studio after his suicide.
The Hebrew Orphan Asylum appears in Gail Carson Levine
's book, Dave at Night
, under the name the "Hebrew Home for Boys." The protagonist hates the poor food, strict rules, and the bullying, and nicknames the place the "Hopeless House of Beggars" and the "Hell Hole for Brats." The author's father attended the Hebrew Orphan Asylum.
and the admission and discharge registers for 1860 through 1928 can be searched via the web.
Nearly fifty oral history interviews about the institution are on deposit at the New York Public Library
.
Orphanage
An orphanage is a residential institution devoted to the care of orphans – children whose parents are deceased or otherwise unable or unwilling to care for them...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. It was founded in 1860 by the Hebrew Benevolent Society. It closed in 1941, after pedagogical research
Pedagogy
Pedagogy is the study of being a teacher or the process of teaching. The term generally refers to strategies of instruction, or a style of instruction....
concluded that children thrive better in foster care or small group homes, rather than in large institutions. The successor organization is the Jewish Child Care Association.
History
In 1822, the Hebrew Benevolent Society was established by Sephardic and Ashkenazic Jews to take care of Jewish orphans. Conflicts between the two groups, however, delayed the creation of an orphanage for nearly forty years. In 1858, the kidnappingKidnapping
In criminal law, kidnapping is the taking away or transportation of a person against that person's will, usually to hold the person in false imprisonment, a confinement without legal authority...
of Edgardo Mortara
Edgardo Mortara
Edgardo Levi Mortara was a Roman Catholic priest who was born and raised Jewish. Fr. Mortara became the center of an international controversy when he was removed from his Jewish parents by authorities of the Papal States and raised as a Catholic...
in the Papal States
Papal States
The Papal State, State of the Church, or Pontifical States were among the major historical states of Italy from roughly the 6th century until the Italian peninsula was unified in 1861 by the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia .The Papal States comprised territories under...
galvanized the group to establish an orphanage. A dinner was held in December 1858 and raised $10,000, but a conflict between Reform
Reform Judaism
Reform Judaism refers to various beliefs, practices and organizations associated with the Reform Jewish movement in North America, the United Kingdom and elsewhere. In general, it maintains that Judaism and Jewish traditions should be modernized and should be compatible with participation in the...
and Orthodox
Orthodox Judaism
Orthodox Judaism , is the approach to Judaism which adheres to the traditional interpretation and application of the laws and ethics of the Torah as legislated in the Talmudic texts by the Sanhedrin and subsequently developed and applied by the later authorities known as the Gaonim, Rishonim, and...
Jews over the wearing of yarmulkes caused a "Tammany
Tammany Hall
Tammany Hall, also known as the Society of St. Tammany, the Sons of St. Tammany, or the Columbian Order, was a New York political organization founded in 1786 and incorporated on May 12, 1789 as the Tammany Society...
-style brawl." Gentiles who were attending the dinner, including Mayor Daniel Tiemann, intervened and broke up the fight.
The practice of holding annual dinners ceased, but the Hebrew Benevolent Society did establish an orphanage, which opened in a rented three story brickhouse on Lamartine Place (now West 29th Street) in Chelsea
Chelsea, Manhattan
Chelsea is a neighborhood on the West Side of the borough of Manhattan in New York City. The district's boundaries are roughly 14th Street to the south, 30th Street to the north, the western boundary of the Ladies' Mile Historic District – which lies between the Avenue of the Americas and...
in 1860 with several dozen boys and girls. On each holiday the children were taken to a different synagogue, to placate the different brands of Judaism of the sponsoring organizations. During the Draft Riots, the mobs came to the very street where the orphanage was, but did not attack it, unlike the Colored Children's Orphan Asylum. In November 1863 the orphanage moved to a purpose-built home on East 77th Street near Third Avenue. In the orphanage, girls were taught domestic skills, while the boys were taught shoemaking and printing; the orphanage's printshop produced a magazine, Young Israel, to which Horatio Alger supplied a serial novel. In 1874 the organization renamed itself the "Hebrew Benefit Society and Orphan Asylum," and agreed to accept $110 a year in public funds to care for each orphan. In 1878, the organization, overwhelmed, agreed to accept only Manhattan children. This led to the formation of the Hebrew Orphan Asylum of the City of Brooklyn.
Between 1860 and 1919, some 13,500 children were admitted to the home. Few children, however, were adopted, since most were actually half-orphans, members of a family which one parent (usually the father) had deserted and which the surviving parent could not support. The asylum was used, in effect, as a boarding school.
In 1884 the Hebrew Benevolent Society constructed a large building at Amsterdam Avenue, between 136th and 138th Streets, in the Modern Renaissance style, designed by William H. Hume. The building cost $750,000 (including the land), and $60,000 a year to operate. The building eventually had a capacity of 1,755 children. It was self-sufficient enough that it was able to survive for a week on its own after it was cut off during the Blizzard of 1888
Great Blizzard of 1888
The Great Blizzard of 1888 or Great Blizzard of '88 was one of the most severe blizzards in United States' recorded history. Snowfalls of 40-50 inches fell in parts of New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts and Connecticut, and sustained winds of over produced snowdrifts in excess of...
. After a dysentery outbreak in 1898, caused by impurities in the city's water supply, left seven children dead, the building installed its own water filtration system. During the influenza epidemic of 1918 not a single child in the orphanage died.
In 1915 the Child Welfare Act was passed, which granted allowances to widows. Within two years the orphanage population in the city shrank by 3,000 children as women became able to care for their children. By 1920 the orphanage was losing its position to the Pleasantville Cottage School (established 1912), which, unlike the Hebrew Orphan Asylum, was not a large institutional building but a group of cottages in a rural area. The Hebrew Orphan Asylum decided to rebuild on the cottage system on land that it owned in the Bronx; it would raise money to do this by selling the orphanage to the Yankees, who wanted land to build a rival stadium to the Polo Grounds
Polo Grounds
The Polo Grounds was the name given to four different stadiums in Upper Manhattan, New York City, used by many professional teams in both baseball and American football from 1880 until 1963...
. This deal fell through, the Yankees instead built a stadium in the Bronx
Yankee Stadium
Yankee Stadium was a stadium located in The Bronx in New York City, New York. It was the home ballpark of the New York Yankees from 1923 to 1973 and from 1976 to 2008. The stadium hosted 6,581 Yankees regular season home games during its 85-year history. It was also the former home of the New York...
, and the Hebrew Orphan Asylum closed in 1941.
After the Asylum closed in 1941, the building was used by City College
City College of New York
The City College of the City University of New York is a senior college of the City University of New York , in New York City. It is also the oldest of the City University's twenty-three institutions of higher learning...
to house members of the U.S. Armed Forces assigned to the Army Specialized Training Program
Army Specialized Training Program
The Army Specialized Training Program was a military training program instituted by the United States Army during World War II at a number of American universities to meet wartime demands for junior officers and soldiers with technical skills...
(ASTP). From 1946 to 1955, it was used as a dormitory, library, and classroom space for the college. It was called "Army Hall" until it was demolished in 1955 and 1956 by the New York City Department of Parks, who replaced it with the Jacob H. Schiff Playground.
Cultural influences
The California and New York artist Henry Alexander'sHenry Alexander (painter)
Henry Alexander was an American painter from California.After early exhibiting a talent for drawing and painting, he went to study at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich, where his teachers were Ludwig von Loeffts and the history painter Wilhelm Lindenschmidt.The New York Herald described Henry...
painting of the Hebrew Orphan Asylum was his favorite work and was found in his studio after his suicide.
The Hebrew Orphan Asylum appears in Gail Carson Levine
Gail Carson Levine
Gail Carson Levine is an American author of young adult books. Her first novel, Ella Enchanted, received a Newbery Honor in 1998.-Early life:...
's book, Dave at Night
Dave at Night
Dave at Night is a novel written by Gail Carson Levine and was published in 1999. The story is inspired by Levine's father's experience as an orphan. It takes place in 1920's New York during the Harlem Renaissance. The real life model for the "Hebrew Home for Boys" was the Hebrew Orphan Asylum,...
, under the name the "Hebrew Home for Boys." The protagonist hates the poor food, strict rules, and the bullying, and nicknames the place the "Hopeless House of Beggars" and the "Hell Hole for Brats." The author's father attended the Hebrew Orphan Asylum.
Notable alumni
- Art BuchwaldArt BuchwaldArthur Buchwald was an American humorist best known for his long-running column in The Washington Post, which in turn was carried as a syndicated column in many other newspapers. His column focused on political satire and commentary...
(admitted in the 1930s, so not available in the web-based records) - Edwin Franko GoldmanEdwin Franko GoldmanEdwin Franko Goldman is one of America's prominent band composers of the early 20th century. He composed over 150 works, more notably his marches. He is known for founding the renowned Goldman Band of New York City and the American Bandmasters Association...
(admitted 1887, discharged 1894) - Hank KaplanHank KaplanHank Kaplan was an American boxing historian and writer. Always wearing one of many of his prized boxing baseball caps, and smoking a pipe, he is widely regarded as the nation's foremost boxing historian, and was known and respected worldwide...
- Irwin Corey
Archives and other sources
The archives of the institution are on deposit at New York's Center for Jewish HistoryCenter for Jewish History
The Center for Jewish History is a partnership, or consortium, of five Jewish organizations based in Manhattan. It is a partnership of five organizations of Jewish history, scholarship, and art: the American Jewish Historical Society, the American Sephardi Federation, the Leo Baeck Institute, the...
and the admission and discharge registers for 1860 through 1928 can be searched via the web.
Nearly fifty oral history interviews about the institution are on deposit at the New York Public Library
New York Public Library
The New York Public Library is the largest public library in North America and is one of the United States' most significant research libraries...
.