 Desiring a dedicated place for burial, he applied to John Penn, Pennsylvania's colonial proprietor, for "a small piece of ground" with permission to make it a family cemetery.This property was at the corner of 9th and Walnut Streets, the present site of the Walnut Street Theatre.Congregation Mikveh Israel traces its history to September 25, 1740 when the Province of Pennsylvania and Thomas Penn authorized the burial ground at the north-west corner of Spruce Street and South Darien Street (between 8th and 9th Streets) meant to be a permanent burial ground for the entire Jewish community of Philadelphia.