Rebuilding the York St Synagogue in 3D

Join computer enthusiast Zac Levi and Great Synagogue curator Jana Vytrhlik for a virtual tour of York Street Synagogue. During lockdown, Zac Levi got bored… so he decided to rebuild the interior of York Street Synagogue inside his computer, in 3D.

The foundation stone for the York Street Synagogue, also known as The Sydney Synagogue, was laid in Sydney in 1842. The building was designed by James Hume in the Egyptian style, very similar to the two Tasmanian synagogues still standing today – one in Hobart and the other in Launceston.

Consecrated on 2 April 1844, The York Street building served Sydney’s Jewish community for 35 years. When the Great Synagogue was established in 1878, York Street was closed and the interior fittings were sold off.

Thankfully many of these artefacts are still around, some in quite surprising places, and Zac has been able to use this original material as samples in his 3D model of the synagogue, bringing this memory of Sydney’s early Jewish community back to life.