Washington Hebrew Congregation

Washington Hebrew Congregation is a Jewish congregation in Washington, D.C.HistoryWashington Hebrew Congregation was formed on April 25, 1852, in Washington, D.C., by twenty-one members.Solomon Pribram was elected the first president. By 1854, there were forty-two members. On December 13, 1855, at the thirty-fourth session of the United States Congress, a special act was passed, which provided thatThe congregation grew steadily in membership and in influence; in 1863 it moved to the site of a former Methodist church, which had been used by the government as a hospital during the Civil War.From 1897 to 1954, the congregation met at 816 Eighth Street NW, in a building designed by Washington architects Louis F. Stutz and Frank W. Pease. The cornerstone of this building was laid on September 16, 1897, by President William McKinley. This building was sold to New Hope Baptist Church (later Greater New Hope Baptist Church) in March 1954.In 1952, President Harry S. Truman laid the cornerstone of the congregation's current home on Macomb Street NW, which was dedicated on May 6, 1955, by President Dwight D. Eisenhower.