After years of dedicated effort, the restoration of the historic Breed Street Shul is finally near, with an anticipated completion date of 2026.
Steve Sass, president of the Breed Street Shul Project– the nonprofit overseeing the project– shared that progress has been “full steam ahead” following the recent approval of construction permits by the city’s Department of Building and Safety.
The nonprofit has been leading the shul’s rehabilitation since acquiring the Boyle Heights property in 2000. Its goal is to transform the compound into a vibrant community and performance space, highlighting the rich, cultural history of the institution and surrounding neighborhood. Although the space will no longer operate as a synagogue, Sass said services on Jewish holidays or during bar mitzvahs could occasionally take place.
“The community has been waiting a long time and it’s good to know that there’s light at the end of the tunnel,” Sass said. “What our hopes have been for so long is very close to being realized and that’s an exciting thing.”
For more than a century, the Breed Street Shul, also known as the Congregation Talmud Torah of Los Angeles, has represented a cultural and religious anchor to the Jewish community on the Eastside. According to the shul’s website, it was the largest Orthodox synagogue west of Chicago and is the last of more than 30 synagogues that existed in Boyle Heights and City Terrace. In 1988, the shul was designated a Los Angeles Historical-Cultural Monument. It held its last service in 1996.
For many years, the shul sat in disrepair, with neglect, vandalism and earthquake damage putting it at risk of demolition. A renovation of the shul’s smaller building was completed in 2011, and events and tours were occasionally held in the community space until the pandemic, according to Sass.
In 2021, nearly $15 million in state funds were secured to restore the Breed Street Shul.
“This is a historic building, and it’s such a wonderful asset, so we want to respect it. We want to be very careful that what we’re doing is sensitive and preserve it for the future, while also giving it that new light and new life,” Sass said. “We very much want the historic features to be there and to kind of evoke what was.”
Construction work on the property’s main building began again in 2024 and is now about halfway completed, Sass said. As part of those renovations, the building will undergo upgrades to improve accessibility, including ramps and an elevator. Sass said the large building will be transformed into an event space that can host film screenings, meetings and exhibitions.
The main building’s lobby is also being expanded to provide more room for a gallery space that tells the story of Boyle Heights and the people who lived there. The sanctuary hall is expected to seat close to 300 people in an intimate setting when the shul is reopened.
The basement will house a workspace for local nonprofits to provide services to the Boyle Heights community, according to Sass.
Sass acknowledged that the restoration process has taken longer than initially expected, citing the city’s permitting process and funding challenges. The cost of the project, he said, has exceeded the initial state grant, and additional funding may be needed to complete the work.
However, Sass is confident that the Breed Street Shul Project will meet its goal of reopening next year.
“That’s really what we’re planning for,” Sass said. “The bulk of the work will be complete then. That’s our great hope and our aspiration.”