September 19, 2024 Preserving and Maintaining the Jewish Advocate Building: Q& A with Rabbi Korff
The Jewish Advocate Building was built in 1888 and stands adjacent to HBI’s Old Corner Bookstore complex on School Street. Our neighbor Rabbi Korff had recently undertaken some façade work to maintain and preserve this building into the future. Here Rabbi Korff kindly pulls back the curtain on his building’s repair as HBI highlights his project as a model of best practice in historic preservation.
1. When did you buy/locate to this building and why?
We’ve been in the building since February of 1991 when we consolidated all our various involvements and moved in. From then the building houses 1) The Office of the Chaplain of the City of Boston, 2) The Jewish Advocate, 3) The Consulate of Austria, 3) The Zvhil-Mezbuz Beis Medrash / Bnai Jacob Synagogue chapel and offices, and 4) my personal residence, study, library, and formal parlor.
Pictured in the 1970s/ early 80s.
Pictured in July 1990.
2. The building is commonly known as the Jewish Advocate Building – what was the Advocate and when did it operate?
The building was originally the building of the Boston Post newspaper, with presses in the basement and sub-basement, so we thought it appropriate to continue as The Jewish Advocate. The Jewish Advocate was founded in 1902 by Theodor Herzl and was the paper of record for the area as well as a leading Jewish weekly in the world Jewish community, with subscribers in all 50 states and 14 foreign countries, until the newspaper industry hit headwinds and Covid cutbacks caused the paper to suspend publication. We are still hoping to re-start at some point in the near future.
3. What prompted you to undertake repairs to the building?
We are very conscientious at maintaining the upkeep of the building – deferred maintenance and ignoring necessary repairs just complicates things, accelerates decline, and makes it that much worse when repairs are finally undertaken.
4. What’s the scope of the work being undertaken?
The building was in good shape from the time we moved in, but in 2015 we realized that the exterior of the building needed repairs, primarily repointing all the brickwork and painting of the wood frames of the windows. Over the past few years we noticed that the paint on the exterior wooden sills of the windows had cracked and peeled, and some of the wooden sills themselves had cracked, split and degenerated, particularly on the front (South) and right side (East) of the building where the sun, wind and rain is harshest, to the point where we could not defer maintenance any longer.
5. The cost (if you’re willing to share)?
The cost is $120,000, which we can ill afford but have no choice if we want to maintain the building in good condition.
6. Is this the first big repair program you’ve undertaken on the building?
This is the fifth, the first being the general clean-up, painting, etc. of the interior of the building in 1991 prior to moving in, the second being the replacement in 2014 of all seven of the HVAC units (interior air handlers and exterior compressors) which by then were almost 30 years old, the third being the exterior repairs to the brickwork and windows in 2015, and the fourth being in 2019 when the elevator, which still had the old 1880’s/1890’s wiring and clicking circuits, finally failed completely and we had to upgrade to a new electronic operation though keeping the original cab.
7. What do you think of older or historic buildings? Is this building and place important to your mission?
We think it is critical to preserve and maintain in authentic fashion older and historic buildings. They are an important part of Boston’s culture, environment, and history and reflect the significance and importance of the City of Boston. Despite the responsibility and cost burden of maintaining it we are proud that our building, originally constructed in April of 1888, is a part of that.
