Lenora Garfinkel
Lenora Garfinkel (1930 – April 29, 2020) was an American architect, specializing in the design and construction of Jewish ritual buildings.
Childhood and education[edit]
Born Lenora Fay Josephy in 1930 in the Bronx, Garfinkel attended the High School of Music & Art in Manhattan and was among the first women to enroll in Cooper Union’s architecture program in the class of 1950.[1][2] [3] She took the Cooper Union entrance exam on a Sunday instead of Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath; she tested under a pseudonym to increase her chances of admission.[4]
Career[edit]
Garfinkel maintained an architecture office in Monsey, New York, for more than 50 years. The business was ranked in the top 8% of New York licensed contractors.[5]
She designed the Atrium, an Ultra-Orthodox events space in Monsey, the Viznitz Synagogue,[6] and the Masores Bais Yaakov school in Brooklyn.[4] She became an authority on the religious regulations and design specifications for Jewish ritual institutions, including mikvahs and synagogues.
Personal[edit]
She was married to Sam Garfinkel, a pharmacist, in 1958. The couple had five children, 20 grandchildren, and over 50 great-grandchildren. Two of her sons are also architects.
Garfinkel died in April 2020, from COVID-19 in The Bronx during the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City. Her son and grandson died from the virus within a week of her death.[7]
References[edit]
- ^ Leland, John (July 3, 2020). "Lenora Fay Garfinkel, 90, Architect for Orthodox Jewish Communities, Dies". The New York Times.
- ^ "Lenora Garfinkel, Monsey architect who designed Atrium, Viznitz synagogue, dies of COVID-19". www.msn.com. Retrieved May 24, 2020.
- ^ "Class Notes - Architecture". www.support.cooper.edu. Archived from the original on June 18, 2020. Retrieved May 24, 2020.
- ^ a b Leland, John (July 3, 2020). "Lenora Fay Garfinkel, 90, Architect for Orthodox Jewish Communities, Dies". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 7, 2020.
- ^ "Garfinkel Architects". www.buildzoom.com. Retrieved May 24, 2020.
- ^ Levine, Sara (May 22, 2020). "Trailblazing Female Architect Succumbs To Covid-19 & Other Orthodox Jews in the News". Jew in the City. Retrieved May 24, 2020.
- ^ "Lenora Garfinkel, 89, noted Orthodox architect who lost a son and grandson to COVID-19". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. June 24, 2020. Retrieved June 25, 2020.
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- 1930 births
- 2020 deaths
- 20th-century American architects
- American Jews
- American women architects
- Architects from New York (state)
- Cooper Union alumni
- Jewish architects
- Fellows of the American Institute of Architects
- People from Monsey, New York
- Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in New York (state)
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