Interior of Congregation Shearith Israel, circa 1959

Interior view of Congregation Shearith Israel from the front entrance looking through a door into the sanctuary. The Congregation Shearith Israel building is located at 10th and Lawrence Streets on the Auraria Campus in downtown Denver, Colo. Since the 1970s it has been used as an art gallery by the Auraria Higher Education Center. The building served as the synagogue for the Jewish orthodox congregation Shearith Israel from 1903 to 1958. This building, part of the Auraria Higher Education Center in downtown Denver since 1973, is the oldest surviving religious structure in Denver. It was originally constructed in 1876 as an Episcopal chapel. However in 1903 it was purchased by the newly formed congregation of Shearith Israel, founded in 1899, and became known as the 10th Street Shul. The ashlar stone building of Romanesque and Gothic architecture was the congregation's synagogue until it was disbanded in 1958. This photo shows a pot bellied stove and stove pipe, Bimah curtains, a chandelier, a table with a book and two lulov. There is a sign in English and Hebrew. Inside the doorway are the pews and the ark. The building was purchased by artist Wolfgang Pogzeba for use as a studio in 1963, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1969, and became known as the Emmanuel Gallery after becoming a part of the Auraria campus in the 1970s.