Lenora Garfinkel (1930 – April 29, 2020) was an American architect, specializing in the design and construction of Jewish ritual buildings.
Born Lenora Fay Josephy in 1930 in the Bronx, Garfinkel attended the High School of Music & Art in Manhattan and was among the first women to enroll in Cooper Union’s architecture program in the class of 1950.
[1][2] [3] She took the Cooper Union entrance exam on a Sunday instead of Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath; she tested under a pseudonym to increase her chances of admission.
[5] She designed the Atrium, an Ultra-Orthodox events space in Monsey, the Viznitz Synagogue,[6] and the Masores Bais Yaakov school in Brooklyn.
[4] She became an authority on the religious regulations and design specifications for Jewish ritual institutions, including mikvahs and synagogues.