[3][4] The trapezoidal shape of the windows and the columns with lotus capitals are characteristic of the Egyptian Revival style.

[8] It has a seating capacity of 150 and features hard benches at the back of the building for the Jewish convicts who in the early days were marched in under armed guard.

[10] The building was designed by Hobart Town architect James Thomson, who was a Scottish convict who was pardoned in 1829.

The synagogue is the focal point of Jewish culture in Hobart, and is the only structure owned by the community.

The Tasmanian community reached a low point in the early 1970s when the census recorded fewer than 100 Jews in Hobart.