Beyond the Facade chronicles the award‎-winning restoration and renewal of the Eldridge Street Synagogue‎.‎ Spiritual home to immigrant Jews and their descendants since it opened in 1887‎,‎ the synagogue‎'‎s main sanctuary was boarded up and left to the elements for decades before a meticulous 25‎-year restoration‎,‎ carefully planned to retain the building‎'‎s rich history‎.‎ The decline and rebirth of the synagogue and the new museum it houses are beautifully documented in more than one hundred full color photographs with text by writer Larry Bortniker‎.‎ Roberta Brandes Gratz‎,‎ an early leader in efforts to preserve the Eldridge Street Synagogue‎,‎ offers her perspective as a preservationist and urban critic‎.‎ Beyond the Facade also features stunning photographs of the synagogue‎'‎s glorious new stained‎-glass window by artist Kiki Smith and architect Deborah Gans‎.‎