Dr. Washington Oakey House 
Dr. Washington Oakey House, 1982 Address: 81 Church Street
Old Address: 13 Church Street
Other names: Jewish Community Center
Year built: Before 1895 (Sanborn Maps)
The home of Dr. Washington Oakey, D.D.S.
Prior to 1979, this was the home of the Saranac Lake Jewish Community Center, where members of the Jewish faith would gather for Synagogue. The Jewish Community Center was dedicated c. 1934, and the ceremonies were attended by then New York State Governor Herbert Lehman. Synagogue at the Center was of the Reform branch; the Orthodox men gathered at the Day Nursery at the present site of William Morris Park, at Bloomingdale Avenue and Depot Street. The Synagogue on Church Street drew participants from near and far, and one family reportedly would come from Montreal for the High Holy Days.
The building was purchased by the North Country Christian Center (predecessor to High Peaks Church), was renovated, and remained their place of worship from Easter Sunday, 1979, through the last Sunday in August, 1981, after which they moved to larger quarters in the former library of the Will Rogers Memorial Hospital at 97 Will Rogers Drive. Still owned by the North Country Christian Center for a time, the house was then occupied by The Studio, a dancing school for children, and used for adult exercise classes as well.
The building was subsequently torn down, and Paul Smith's College built a residence hall on the site.
Sources
- Adirondack Daily Enterprise, April 4, 2009
- Phil Gallos, unpublished ms, 1983.
