[8] In 1859, the congregation bought a plot of land in the newly established Forest Hill Cemetery for use as a Jewish burial ground.

[11] Following the assassination of Abraham Lincoln in 1865, the Wisconsin Legislature met for a memorial service at the Gates of Heaven synagogue.

[18] Throughout its existence from 1856 to 1922, the Gates of Heaven congregation kept detailed records of its meetings, which are now held by the American Jewish Historical Society in New York City.

[21] Manfred Swarsensky, rabbi of the nearby Temple Beth El and historian of the Jews in Madison, despaired of the possibility of preserving the synagogue.

[24] On July 23, Fiore granted a six-month grace period for the possibility of fundraising and the moving of the synagogue to a new site,[25][26] which was estimated to cost between $20,000 ($235,373 in 2023) and $100,000 ($784,576 in 2023).

A city council meeting in June was adjourned early, preventing the alders from voting on a contract to move the synagogue.

[37] One alderman who voted for the adjournment and opposed the moving project described the synagogue as a "junk pile" and "a waste of taxpayers' money".

[38] Ultimately, the City Council approved the move,[38] overruling an objection by a landlord near James Madison Park who complained that the synagogue would be an "eyesore".

[42] On July 16, 1971, the synagogue was finally rolled through downtown Madison with the aid of two World War II tank retrievers, a hoist truck, the Belding Moving Company of Chicago, and city workers.

[43] After the 1971 move to James Madison Park, local firm Historic Mineral Point Inc. took over responsibility for restoration of Gates of Heaven.

[44] B'nai Jeshurun Synagogue in Milwaukee donated a hand-carved Torah ark from 1858, which was then refinished and reconfigured to fit into Gates of Heaven.

[28] Diplomat Hannah Rosenthal has led the High Holy Day services since the early 1980s, accompanied by musician Ben Sidran.

[59] On September 20, 2017, the day before Rosh Hashanah, swastikas and the words "TRUMP RULES" and "Antifa sucks" were found spray painted on a stone memorializing the Abraham Lincoln brigade near the synagogue.

[60] On November 18, 2023, members of the neo-Nazi group Blood Tribe marched through the downtown, stopping at the State Capitol and Gates of Heaven.

[64] In its nomination form for the NRHP, it was described as "reflecting a degree of Victorian eclecticism, with Gothic influences and facade ornamentation reminiscent of old Spanish mission architecture of the southwestern US.

A vestibule attached at its center forms the synagogue's entryway and repeats the general shape of the greater facade with the addition of a flat cap at the top of the gable and pilasters at the corners.