- Congregation Beth Israel (Portland, Oregon)
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For other synagogues named "Beth Israel", see Beth Israel (disambiguation)Temple Beth Israel
Location: 1931 NW Flanders St.
Portland, OregonCoordinates: 45°31′34″N 122°41′28″W / 45.52611°N 122.69111°WCoordinates: 45°31′34″N 122°41′28″W / 45.52611°N 122.69111°W Built: 1926–1928 Architect: Morris H. Whitehouse
Herman Brookman
Harry A. HerzogArchitectural style: Neo-Byzantine Governing body: Private NRHP Reference#: 79002141 Added to NRHP: July 26, 1979 Beth Israel is a Reform congregation and Jewish synagogue in Portland, Oregon, United States. The congregation was founded in 1858, while Oregon was still a territory, and built its first synagogue in 1859.[1]
Architecture
The congregation's first building was a modest, single story, pitched-roof, wood-framed, clapboard building with Gothic, pointed-arch windows and door.[2]
This early structure was replaced by an 1888 synagogue building, which was destroyed by fire in December 1923.[3] The building, called Moorish revival in some sources,[4] is elsewhere described as a combination of eclectic and Gothic revival styles, with two towers topped by bulbous domes.[5]
It was replaced in 1928 by a notable Neo-Byzantine synagogue building that continues to serve the congregation. It was listed as Temple Beth Israel on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.[6] It is considered one of the finest examples of Byzantine-style architecture on the west coast, and was inspired by the Alte Synagoge (Steelerstrasse Synagogue) in Essen, Germany.[7][8] The interior of Steelerstrasse, the first modern synagogue in Germany, was praised as Germany's most beautiful; it was destroyed during Kristallnacht.[8]
References
Postcard depicting 1888 synagogue
- ^ Facilities
- ^ The Ties that Bind; A Century of Judaism on America's Last Frontier, Julius J. Nodel and Alfred Asper, pub. by Temple Beth Israel, Portland, 1959, p. 14
- ^ Temple Beth Israel: Portland, OR
- ^ Temple Beth Israel: Portland, OR
- ^ The Ties that Bind; A Century of Judaism on America's Last Frontier, Julius J. Nodel and Alfred Asper, pub. by Temple Beth Israel, Portland, 1959, p. 55
- ^ "Oregon National Register List". Oregon State Parks and Recreation Department. July 16, 2007. http://www.oregon.gov/OPRD/HCD/NATREG/docs/oregon_nr_list.pdf. Retrieved May 12, 2008.
- ^ "Architecture in Oregon: Treasures". Architecture Foundation of Oregon. http://www.af-oregon.org/architecture-in-oregon/treasures/. Retrieved July 14, 2011.[dead link]
- ^ a b "Essen". http://www.edwardvictor.com/EssenFrame2main.htm. Retrieved May 23, 2008.
External links
- Congregation Beth Israel (official website)
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Category:National Register of Historic Places • 
Portal:National Register of Historic PlacesCategories:- Buildings and structures in Portland, Oregon
- Culture of Portland, Oregon
- Neo-Byzantine synagogues
- Properties of religious function on the National Register of Historic Places in Oregon
- Synagogues on the National Register of Historic Places
- Synagogues in Oregon
- Neo-Byzantine architecture in Oregon
- Reform synagogues in the United States
- National Register of Historic Places in Portland, Oregon
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