"The neighborhood represents the efforts of members of an Orthodox religious group to accommodate their beliefs by developing a synagogue and housing for the congregation within easy walking distance.

[3][4] When it was completed in 1957, the main sanctuary of the synagogue was the largest in the United States, according to the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America.

"[3] Although the synagogue was vacated in 1984 and moved to a new location farther east in Memphis, the original building still stands and in 1992 was sold by the congregation to the Gethsemane Garden Church of God in Christ.

In 2008, a controversial proposal to build a multistory 117-unit apartment development on 2.81 acres (11,400 m2) of land behind the former synagogue site was rejected by the Memphis City Council.

[8][9] Local news coverage took note of the Vollintine Hills community's highly organized opposition and efforts to preserve the character of their historic neighborhood, characterizing the district as "a middle-income area of 50- to 80-year-old homes on the National Register of Historic Places that is vigorously maintained by some of the most diligent neighborhood activists in town.