Brooklyn, one building at a time.

Name: Deity Supper Club, formerly Talmud Torah Beth Jacob Joseph
Address: 368 Atlantic Avenue
Cross Streets: Hoyt and Bond Streets
Neighborhood: Boerum Hill
Year Built: Unknown, converted to a shul in 1917.
Architectural Style: vaguely Moorish/Middle Eastern
Architect: Unknown
Landmarked: No

The story: A sturdy building can go through many incarnations before it becomes only a pile of bricks, and this building, fortunately, still has much life in it. For the last four years it’s been a supper and night club, as well as home to its owners, and before that, an antiques shop, and before that, a shul. And before that?

Local rumor has it that 368 Atlantic Avenue started its life as a beer hall in the mid 1800’s. That’s entirely possible, although I could find no ready documentation. Most of the buildings on this part of Atlantic Avenue clearly were commercial storefront buildings with living quarters above. There was a large German-American Turn Verein just across the street, at that time, which also had a beer hall and restaurant.

In 1887, an investigation of a murder in New Jersey took investigators to this address, in search of a missing Danish girl, who had just arrived from Copenhagen. The girl turned up, and was not the victim in this case. The story made the NY Times, however.

In 1896, possibly the ground floor commercial space was home to an employment agency for servants. There were several ads in the Brooklyn Eagle, advertising for servants of every nationality and ethnic group to come register at this agency. Meanwhile, upstairs, a few years later, in 1905, police raided the apartment of Florence Simmons, and caught her red-handed with piles of policy, or numbers slips, and they arrested her for running a policy shop. This was in addition to arresting several other people in the neighborhood. Atlantic Avenue has always been a lively place.

In 1917, the building was remodeled into the Talmud Torah Beth Jacob Joseph, a school. Many of the Jewish schools of this time also doubled as shuls, or synagogues, and this building is documented in several sources as serving as both. I was not able to find out the architect for the conversion. The building remained the Talmud Torah Beth Jacob Joseph for many years.

In 1948, the nearby Congregation Mt. Sinai Synagogue, on State Street, was destroyed in a fire. The scrolls were saved, before the roof collapsed, and they were taken here to Congregation Jacob Joseph, and the two congregations shared the space until Mt. Sinai was able to relocate and rebuild. They were there at least a year, because in 1949, a benefit was held here, again, according to the Times.

In 1977, the deed passed to the G&A Heating and Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Company, and became Time Trader Antiques sometime after that. For many years, they were a fixture on Atlantic Avenue’s Antiques Row. I remember going into Time Traders several times, in the 1980’s, but don’t remember any remnants of the buildings religious past, but my memory may be faulty.

At any rate, in 2004, the building passed to the current owners, who have turned it into a fancy supper club and night club, with exposed brick and open spaces. They have an apartment upstairs. Ironically, according to their website, the former shul can be the site of your bar or bat mitzvah party. Mazel Tov! GMAP

Photo: Deity.com
Photo: Late 1970's-early '80's tax photo, via Property Shark.

What's Your Take? Leave a Comment

  1. bob, the first floor of time traders was so great, you did not have to go upstairs.
    I once bought eight armoires there in a single afternoon. eight armoires. I think that had to be a record of some kind. They were for a friend’s bed and breakfast in the country.

  2. Montrose, Time Traders was one of my favorite antique stores, Remember the large white parrot -Cockatoo?- who was the live-in mascot of the place?
    Back then, I thought the building has been a synagogue because of the stained glass windows in the stairwell with hebrew letters and stars of david. The stairs lead to the level where they had hundreds of antique chairs of all description.
    Religious buildings often find new uses, sometimes secular and sometimes for other religions.

  3. Montrose, Time Traders was one of my favorite antique stores, Remember the large white parrot -Cockatoo?- who was the live-in mascot of the place?
    Back then, I thought the building has been a synagogue because of the stained glass windows in the stairwell with hebrew letters and stars of david. The stairs lead to the level where they had hundreds of antique chairs of all description.
    Religious buildings often find new uses, sometimes secular and sometimes for other religions.

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