[2] The reform-oriented Rabbi Salomon Samuel was appointed in 1894, and with the growth of the Jewish community, he decided to build a new large synagogue in the middle of the city center that would mark the importance of Judaism in German society.

The architect Edmund Körner was appointed, and designed a large Byzantine style stone building topped by a copper dome.

Salomon Samuel provided guidance on the interior's decoration so that it would reflect Jewish traditions; he gave special attention to the symbols contained in the mosaics and stained glass.

The seizure of power by the National Socialists in 1933 began the Nazi era with increasingly more severe anti-Jewish policies culminating in Kristallnacht on 9–10 November 1938, a night when Jewish owned businesses and synagogues were attacked, many of which were burned to the ground.

In 1988 in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, the City Council of Essen decided to create a house of Jewish culture and a memorial in the Old Synagogue.

Steeler Strasse on the south side of the building was redirected and the city created a paved plaza named after the synagogue's architect,'Edmund-Körner-Platz.'

[7] Since 1988, the Salomon Ludwig Steinheim Institute, has researched the cultural, religious, and literary history of the Jews in the German-speaking world.