BJHI Brooklyn Tours
Here at the BJHI we have a fascinating assortment of tours to offer you, showcasing different neighborhoods in our fine borough. We have walking tours, biking tours, and bus/van tours. Learn about the Brooklyn Jewish community’s past and present, with our knowledgeable guides.
Williamsburg & Crown Heights: Two Major Orthodox "Nabes"
Take a tour that highlights two of the most iconic Orthodox Jewish neighborhoods in Brooklyn: Williamsburg and Crown Heights! Let tour guide and author Ellen Levitt show you highlights of these two areas. Take note of the similarities and differences. See significant synagogues. schools and other Jewish institutions as well as some secular highlights. This tour can be done by car and walking for a group of 2-4 people. If the group is bigger, we will connect between the areas via public transportation. Williamsburg: major Jewish girls school, a few major synagogues, commercial establishments, etc. Crown Heights: 770 Eastern Parkway, the Ohel, Jewish Children's Museum, Kingston Avenue commercial district, also the Brooklyn Museum/edge of the Botanic Gardens. Reservations should be at least 1 or more weeks in advance and no tours are given on Saturday.
Flatbush-East Flatbush Biking Tour
This easy-paced biking tour starts at Erasmus Hall High School, one of the oldest secondary schools in the Americas! We will see pre and post WW2 buildings including the former Shaare Torah, with its outdoor sculpture created by noted artist and designer Ludwig Wolpert, as well as two former synagogues on Bedford Avenue.
Reservations should be at least 1 or more weeks in advance and no tours are given on Saturday.
Prospect Heights to Western Brownsville Biking Tour
This biking tour begins at the illustrious Brooklyn Museum, and heads east to a few of the most iconic former synagogues and institutions in Brooklyn, including two former theatres (one became a shul, the other was a Yiddish theatre). We will also see the former home of Shaare Zedek by Brower Park, which has evolved into B'SHRT, a congregation in the Prospect Park South neighborhood.
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Bed-Stuy and Crown Heights - New Biking Tour!
Bed-Stuy and Crown Heights are ever evolving, with Hasidic communities in various parts, a venerable African-American community, and a growing "hipster" contingent. During this tour we will see former synagogues that vary in size and grandeur.
Reservations should be at least 1 or more weeks in advance and no tours are given on Saturday.
Brownsville-East New York Van Tour
The old Jewish community of Brownsville extended into what is also considered East New York. There are some fascinating former synagogues and schools in this area, including two designed by a notable father-son architecture firm. We will also see a former synagogue that started out as an appetizing store! The tour also includes the legendary former New Lots Talmud Torah (aka "The Cong") and Thomas Jefferson High School.
Reservations should be at least 1 or more weeks in advance and no tours are given on Saturday.
Victorian Flatbush Walking Tour
The Flatbush neighborhood in Brooklyn is a picturesque area renowned for its magnificent Victorian mansion houses. The walking tour will take about two and a half hours; get to know the historic district, admire its striking 19th-century architecture. It includes a visit to Beth Shalom Emeth Reform Temple (BShERT). It is a merge of a number of reform congregations over the decades. Temple Beth Emeth was founded in 1911 by a woman, Hannah Hirsch. The sanctuary is a beautiful, art-deco design completed in 1913-1914; it has been used on an episode of "Law and Order" and most recently, the HBO series, "The Plot Against America."
We will pass another synagogue, Temple Isaac which was the Flatbush Christian Church in 1910. There is also, the American Islamic Albanian Mission. It is around the corner of BShERT and has been there since 1972. Also around the corner from BShERT is the home used in the major motion picture, "Sophie's Choice," in 1982.
And much more about the history of this NYC Landmarked neighborhood!
Reservations should be at least 1 or more weeks in advance and no tours are given on Saturday.
Meet your Tour Guide Ron