About our “fur safe”

A STANDING SAFE rests in the southeast exit corridor on the main level of our historic sanctuary building. It holds both spare and defective Torah scrolls.

(As usual, click/tap on an image to enlarge it.)

Below the jump, this post describes the safe.…

Its rough measurements are 5' wide x 6' high x 3' deep. More precisely:

• 60-3/8" wide
• 79½" high, including wheels
• 38½" deep, including handles

This floor safe has no label or nameplate that we can find, inside or out. The manufacturer is unknown. Perhaps it was the same as the maker of the lock mechanism: Yale & Towne (which no longer appears to make safes):

The 4 wheels look like this:

The eastern side of the safe is against the bottom step, which is 7' from the exit threshold. The western side of the safe is 5' from the door into the main sanctuary.

In the 2003 Historic Structure Report, this safe is listed under Record No. 321, where it is described as “Large floor safe with cedar lining located at south wall. Contains torah scrolls and related objects.” It was not considered to be historically significant—which makes sense given that it was clearly not part of the original design or furnishings.

Rabbi Dan described it to me as a “fur safe” — that is, it was designed for storing fur coats. I suppose that would explain the cedar lining inside. His impression is that the late Sam Widowski donated it when he retired and closed down his business as a furrier.