This is the pre-war location of the yeshiva, or religious school, of the Bobover Hasidim. The building was owned by a local Jewish family of entrepreneurs, the Haberfelds, who also owned the nearby Jacob Haberfeld Vodka and Liquor Factory.
The building underwent major renovation in the 1930s; the inauguration of the new building in 1936 was attended by the Bobover Rabbi, Ben-Tsiyon Halberstam, himself.
The first floor was used as the Menachem Avelim Synagogue. In Jewish tradition, Menachem Avelim is an association for the gathering of the minyan, which is the minimum number of individuals required for certain prayers, including for mourning ceremonies in private houses, pre-burial houses, and cemeteries. The organization comforted mourners and supported needy Jewish families with food and money for burial costs.