Beth Sholom Congregation (Elkins Park, Pennsylvania)

Infobox nrhp
name = Beth Sholom Synagogue
nrhp_type = nhl

---

caption =
location = 8231 Old York Road
Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, USA
lat_degrees = 40
lat_minutes = 4
lat_seconds = 56
lat_direction = N
long_degrees = 75
long_minutes = 7
long_seconds = 36
long_direction = W
area = < convert|1|acre|m2|sing=on
built = 1954
architect = Frank Lloyd Wright
architecture = Modern
designated= March 29, 2007cite web|url=http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=2050655324&ResourceType=Building
title=Beth Sholom Synagogue |accessdate=2007-11-12|work=National Historic Landmark summary listing|publisher=National Park Service]
added = March 29, 2007cite web|url=http://www.nr.nps.gov/|title=National Register Information System|accessdate=2008-07-02|work=National Register of Historic Places|publisher=National Park Service]
visitation_num =
visitation_year =
refnum = 07000430
mpsub =
governing_body = Beth Sholom Congregation

Beth Sholom Congregation is a Conservative synagogue located in the Philadelphia suburb of Elkins Park. Its building the only synagogue ever designed by famed architect, Frank Lloyd Wright. "Beth Sholom" is Hebrew for House of Peace.

The building is a startling, translucent, modernist evocation of a Mayan temple, transposed to a Philadelphia suburb by Frank Lloyd Wright, one of the few architects to work in the Mayan Revival architecture style.

In 2007, the building was named a National Historic Landmark because of "its significance in the history of American architecture. The glazed glass pyramidal tower, built in the 1950s, reflects two dominant metaphors — the tent and the mountain — to convey the sense of a collective sacredness. It is nationally significant as one of Wright's most important commissions during his long and productive career." [ cite web|url=http://www.doi.gov/news/07_News_Releases/070404.html |title=Interior Secretary Kempthorne Designates 12 National Historic Landmarks in 10 States |accessdate=2007-04-15 |first=U.S. Department of the Interior |date=2007-04-04 |work=U.S. Department of the Interior Press Release]

Congregation

The congregation originally established its synagogue in Logan in 1919 but was one of the first congregations to move to the Philadelphia suburbs when it moved to its present home in the 1950s.

Rabbis

* 1919-1964 - Rabbi Mortimer J. Cohen ז"ל
* 1964-2000 - Rabbi Aaron Landes
* 2000-2003 - Rabbi Gershon Schwartz ז"ל
* 2003-2004 - Rabbi Frederic Kazan (interim)
* 2004-present - Rabbi David Glanzberg-Krainin

Current religious leadership also includes Rabbi Andrea Merow.

Building

The building was specially designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, who accepted the commission in September 1953. The building was completed and consecrated in 1959. With its steeply inclined walls of translucent wire glass and plastic projecting skyward like a "luminous Mount Sinai" (in Wright's own description) and has also been cited as an example of the Mayan Revival architecture style. During the day, the interior is lit by natural light entering through the translucent walls overhead. At night, the entire building glows from interior artificial lighting.

In front of the synagogue, and separated from it by about twenty-five feet is a "laver" or fountain. In ancient days, the "laver" (from the word "to lave" or "wash") was made of copper. In it the worshipers would wash their hands before the sacrifice and service. The lovely fountain with flowing waters that is in front of the entrance is a symbol of the old laver and is also a symbol of purity upon entering religious worship.

The main sanctuary is large enough to hold about 1020 people. The seats are placed in a circular manner around the protruding pulpit, so that the people on one side of the synagogue can see the people on the other side. As with many Frank Lloyd Wright buildings, the roof of the synagogue leaks. Therefore, many of the seats in the synagogue normally hold buckets to catch the water on rainy days.

The design is considered by critics to be the "most expressive" drafted in Wright's career for any house of worship. It has been listed by the American Institute of Architects as one of the 17 American buildings which are to be preserved as an example of Wright's contribution to American architecture.

Picture Gallery

Exterior

Roof details

External links

* [http://www.bethsholomcongregation.org Official Congregation homepage]
* [http://www.bh.org.il/Communities/Synagogue/ElkinsPark.asp Entry in the Database of Jewish Communities]
* [http://frank.lloydwright.info/architectural/beth-sholom-synagogue.html Architectural review]
* [http://www.delmars.com/wright/flw8-16.htm Architectural details]

References