Contemporary photo by Gordon Chibroski/Staff Photographer; historic photo from the Portland Public Library Special Collections & Archives (photographer uncredited).
This photograph from the Aug. 5, 1983, Portland Evening Express shows the demolition of Anshe Sfard synagogue on Cumberland Avenue near Franklin Street. From the photograph’s caption:
“The Sephardic synagogue, one of the first built in Portland, has been closed for years and is being razed by property owners E.C. Jordan Co. for leased parking.
“A former member of the synagogue’s congregation, Abraham Ackerman, said his father and grandfather were members. ‘It makes me sad to see it come down, because it’s from my younger days, and because my father was there. You miss it.’”
The Maine Historical Society will host a slideshow and panel discussion about Anshe Sfard and Bayside’s Jewish history at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 23. Contact info@mainehistory.org for details.
The Portland Room of the Portland Public Library is in the process of organizing and conserving the archival collection of original Portland Press Herald, Maine Sunday Telegram and Evening Express photographic negatives — a major collection that spans from 1937 to 2005. Find more photos at www.pressherald.com/flashback/.
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