Downtown Synagogue.img433, with story

There was a synagogue in downtown Cincinnati, located in the Enquirer Building, the headquarters for the cities largest metropolitan newspaper.  It was mostly orthodox, but do to its open membership nature it was also considered reform.  Men would arrive at the end of their day, about 5pm to say Kadish for their loved ones.

As it requires ten jews to make a minion and hold the service, I would often get a call at the last minute, walk the five blocks to help make out the necessary number.  My business was close enough to help out, so after years and years, and noticing the calls coming more often as the older business men were dying out, I felt it would be important to record this special synagogue in the inner city.  

This image was taken with the ark closed and no torahs in use, as this would be considered disrespectful.  I set up my Hasselblad with a 50mm Zeiss F4.0 Distagon using Kodak Tri-X 120 film, exposure most likely 1/15th a second wide open at F4.0, mounted on a tripod.  The exposure was done with a 25 foot pneumatic cable release with a foot bulb.  It is curious that the only person a little blurred was me, the young one, due to stepping on the bulb.

By now nearly 40 years later from the mid 1970s, nearly all these gentlemen have passed on, and the synagogue has closed.  This is most likely the only image ever taken inside.  The man responsible for everything, the location, the phone calls and his time was Nate, the man to my immediate left.  We called him Rabbi and he made the synagogue possible. Before he became the Rabbi, he was the known as the "king of the newsboys" having grown up selling The Enquirer newspaper on the streets of downtown Cincinnati.

Since this is a religious image, I will offer downloads only if you send a note asking and explaining how you might use it.

eugene spiegel