Pgh. Synagogue Massacre Site Gets Millions In Renovation Funds

PITTSBURGH, PA — Tree of Life synagogue in Squirrel Hill is receiving $6.6 million in state funding to further its rebuilding project after 11 people were shot to death there in October 2018. Gov. Tom Wolf on Friday announced the grant as part of a $54.5 million package to fund 16 community, economic development and revitalization projects in Pennsylvania.

The Tree of Life project "will transform the site of the worst antisemitic attack in U.S. history into a new place of hope, remembrance, and education," Wolf said in a news release.

A gunman killed 11 people who were at the synagogue to attend services. Because of the pandemic and numerous procedural delays, the accused killer, Robert Bowers of Baldwin, has yet to go to trial.

The large building has not been in use since the massacre. In May, Daniel Libeskind, an internationally acclaimed architect who designed the World Trade Center master plan following the 9/11 attacks, was selected as the lead architect for a similar task at the synagogue site.

“It is with a great sense of urgency and meaning that I join the Tree of Life to create a new center in Pittsburgh,” Libeskind said in a release immediately after is selection. “Our team is committed to creating a powerful and memorable space that addresses the worst antisemitic attack in United
States history."

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