Jewish people have been living in the District as long as there’s been a D.C. But it wasn’t until 1876 that the first synagogue was built at 3rd and G streets NW. In the years since, that original building has served multiple purposes—ironically, once as a pork barbecue—and, in 1969, was relocated to where it now sits, just a block away at the corner of 3rd and F streets NW. Today, the building finally has a new purpose too: It’s part of the Lillian and Albert Small Capital Jewish Museum.
Opening to the public on June 9, the free museum is the city’s first to explore Jewish life in the region. While the synagogue is the museum’s most prominent artifact—an intentional decision by the museum’s architects, who carefully integrated the old building into the design of the…
