File:Temple Beth Israel -- Houston, Texas.jpg

Original file (3,018 × 2,542 pixels, file size: 3.54 MB, MIME type: image/jpeg)

Captions

Captions

Temple Beth Israel -- Houston, Texas

Summary

edit
Description
English: Congregation Beth Israel is the oldest Jewish congregation in Texas. Early Jewish families that settled in the area formed the Hebrew Benevolent Society in 1844, under the leadership of Lewis Levy. By 1854, seventeen adults organized themselves into the Hebrew Congregation Beth Israel, and the congregation received a state charter in 1859. Members first met in a small room on Austin Street between Texas and Prairie, but later moved to a frame building on Labranch Street. The congregation’s first permanent synagogue was dedicated on Crawford Street in 1874. A larger synagogue followed in 1908, but waves of immigration, the oil boom and the deepening of the ship channel brought explosive growth to the congregation, and the need for another, larger building became urgent. The new synagogue, located at the corner of Holman and Austin Streets, was designed by congregation member and noted architect Joseph Finger. When the temple was dedicated in 1925, the Houston Chronicle called it “the finest house of worship of its kind in the entire south.”

The temple’s architecture combines traditional classical and near eastern elements, such as large columns and entablatures, in a stylized art moderne style. The brick and limestone building’s square plan and high facades enhance its monumental scale.

In 1969, the congregation moved to a new site in southwest Houston and transferred the property to the Houston Independent School District. The facility served as the first home of Houston’s High School for the Visual and Performing Arts before it was passed to Houston Community College in the early 1980s.
Date
Source Own work
Author Jim Evans
Camera location29° 44′ 14.83″ N, 95° 22′ 28.3″ W Kartographer map based on OpenStreetMap.View this and other nearby images on: OpenStreetMapinfo


This is an image of a place or building that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places in the United States of America. Its reference number is 84001826.

Licensing

edit
I, the copyright holder of this work, hereby publish it under the following license:
w:en:Creative Commons
attribution share alike
This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.
You are free:
  • to share – to copy, distribute and transmit the work
  • to remix – to adapt the work
Under the following conditions:
  • attribution – You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
  • share alike – If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you must distribute your contributions under the same or compatible license as the original.

VI seal

This image has been assessed under the valued image criteria and is considered the most valued image on Commons within the scope: Congregation Beth Israel (Houston) -- Facade. You can see its nomination here.

File history

Click on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time.

Date/TimeThumbnailDimensionsUserComment
current00:30, 31 May 2020Thumbnail for version as of 00:30, 31 May 20203,018 × 2,542 (3.54 MB)Jim Evans (talk | contribs)Uploaded own work with UploadWizard

File usage on other wikis

Metadata