B'Nai Zion Temple

Last updated

B'Nai Zion Temple
Shreveport September 2015 085 (B'Nai Zion Temple).jpg
B'Nai Zion Temple, in 2015
Religion
Affiliation Reform Judaism
Ecclesiastical or organisational status Synagogue
StatusActive
Location
Location802 Cotton Street, Shreveport, Louisiana
CountryUnited States
Shreveport Downtown, Louisiana.png
Red pog.svg
Location in Shreveport, Louisiana
Geographic coordinates 32°30′30″N93°45′02″W / 32.50846°N 93.75056°W / 32.50846; -93.75056
Architecture
Architect(s) Edward F. Neild & Clarence Olschner
TypeSynagogue
Style Beaux Arts
Date established1861 (as a congregation)
Completed1915
Website
bnaizioncongregation.or
B'Nai Zion Temple
Area0.3 acres (0.12 ha)
Part ofShreveport Commercial Historic District (ID82002760)
NRHP reference No. 93001547
Significant dates
Added to NRHPJanuary 21, 1994
Designated CPMay 16, 1997
[1]

B'Nai Zion Temple is a historic Jewish temple located in downtown Shreveport, Louisiana. It was constructed in 1914 [2] and dedicated in 1915. [3] [4]

Contents

History

The Jewish community of Shreveport started off small in the late 1840s. By 1857 a small congregation of Jews had been created. They met in one of the congregant's homes under the leadership of Rabbi Julius Lewin. In 1861 the congregation adopted the name Har-el and started attending services in the home of a local Jewish businessman. At that time, most members of the congregation identified with the Reform tradition of Judaism. Once the Civil War was over, the group became known as Hebrew Zion. [4]

In 1869 the congregation constructed its first building of worship on Fannin Street. In 1875 a disagreement about the religious traditions of Judaism triggered a split in the congregation. A new Orthodox congregation was formed but the split was short lived. In 1877, the two groups reconciled and agreed to become identified with the Reform tradition of Judaism. [4]

By 1910 the Fannin Street building was above capacity, with over 150 members belonging to the Hebrew Zion congregation. By 1910, plans to construct a new temple were being devised. In 1915, the Beaux-Arts building was dedicated and the congregation was renamed B'Nai Zion. The building was seen as "an architectural gem and an ornament to the city." Shortly after the end of World War II, the temple had over 300 members. [4]

In 1955 the congregation had relocated to a new building on Southfield Road. By 1962, membership was above 400 people. After the relocation, the building was sold to the Knights of Columbus. In 1993 the building was bought by a private historical group who planned to preserve the building for its beautiful architecture. The historic structure is now vacant. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1994. [1]

The building also became a contributing property of Shreveport Commercial Historic District when its boundaries were increased on May 16, 1997. [5]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mount Zion Temple</span> Reform synagogue in St. Paul, Minnesota, United States

Mount Zion Temple is a Reform Jewish synagogue located at 1300 Summit Avenue, in St. Paul, Minnesota, in the United States. Founded in 1856 as Mount Zion Hebrew Association, it was the first Jewish congregation in Minnesota. The congregation was formed before the statehood of Minnesota in 1858.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Isaac M. Wise Temple</span> Reform synagogue in Cincinnati, Ohio, US

The Isaac M. Wise Temple, commonly called the Wise Temple, is an historic Reform Jewish congregation and synagogue located in Cincinnati, Ohio, in the United States. The congregation's historic Plum Street temple was erected in honour of Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise, who was among the founders of Reform Judaism in the United States. The temple building was designed by prominent Cincinnati architect James Keys Wilson and its design was inspired by the Alhambra at Granada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United Hebrews of Ocala</span> Historic former Reform Jewish synagogue in Ocala, Florida, US

The United Hebrews of Ocala is an historic former Reform Jewish synagogue building located at 729 N.E. 2nd Street, in the Tuscawilla Park Historic District of Ocala, Marion County, Florida, in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Temple Beth El (Detroit)</span> Reform synagogue in Michigan, United States

Temple Beth El is a Reform synagogue located at in Bloomfield Township, Oakland County, Michigan, in the United States. Beth El was founded in 1850 in the city of Detroit, and is the oldest Jewish congregation in Michigan. Temple Beth El was a founding member of the Union for Reform Judaism in 1873, and hosted the meeting in 1889 during which the Central Conference of American Rabbis was established.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wilshire Boulevard Temple</span> Reform Jewish synagogue in Los Angeles, California, US

The Wilshire Boulevard Temple, known from 1862 to 1933 as Congregation B'nai B'rith, is a Reform Jewish congregation and synagogue, located at 3663 Wilshire Boulevard, in the Wilshire Center district of Los Angeles, California, in the United States. Founded in 1862, it is the oldest Jewish congregation in Los Angeles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">B'nai Israel Synagogue (Baltimore)</span> Synagogue in Baltimore, Maryland, United States

B'nai Israel Synagogue is a Modern Orthodox synagogue located in the historic Jonestown neighborhood, near downtown and the Inner Harbor of Baltimore, Maryland, in the United States. The synagogue is one of the oldest synagogue buildings in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Congregation Beth Israel (Scottsdale, Arizona)</span> Reform Jewish synagogue in Scottsdale, Arizona, US

Congregation Beth Israel is a Reform Jewish congregation and synagogue, located at 10460 North 56th Street in Scottsdale, Arizona, in the United States. Incorporated in 1920, the congregation affiliated with the Union for Reform Judaism in 1935.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">B'nai Jeshurun (Manhattan)</span> Synagogue in New York City

B'nai Jeshurun is a non-denominational Jewish synagogue located at 257 West 88th Street and 270 West 89th Street, on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, in New York City, New York, United States.

Kol Ami is a Reform Jewish congregation and synagogue located at 225 North Country Club Road, in Tucson, Arizona, in the United States. The congregation was formed through the 2019 merger of Temple Emanu-El and the Congregation Or Chadash, that was established in 1995. The leaders of Temple Emanuel-El and Congregation Or Chadash began discussions about a potential merger in 2018. The merger of the two Reform congregations was consummated the following year, as Kol Ami.

Temple Israel is a Reform Jewish congregation and synagogue, located at 3100 East Broad Street, in Columbus, Ohio, in the United States. Founded as the Orthodox Bene Jeshurun congregation in 1846, the congregation is the oldest Jewish congregation in Columbus, and a founding member of the Union for Reform Judaism. Its first religious leader was Simon Lazarus, a clothing merchant who founded what would become Lazarus department stores.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ohev Sholom Temple</span>

Ohev Sholom Temple, now known as B'Nai Sholom Congregation, is a historic synagogue located at 949 10th Avenue, in Huntington, Cabell County, West Virginia, in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Temple B'Nai Israel (New Britain, Connecticut)</span> Historic former synagogue in New Britain, Connecticut, US

Temple B'Nai Israel is an historic former Jewish synagogue and former Masonic hall, located at 265 West Main Street in New Britain, Connecticut, in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Congregation B'nai Israel (Jackson, Tennessee)</span> Historic Reform synagogue in Tennessee, US

Congregation B’nai Israel is an historic Reform Jewish congregation and synagogue at 401 West Grand Street in Jackson, Tennessee, in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">B'nai Jacob Synagogue (Ottumwa, Iowa)</span> Former Conservative synagogue in Ottumwa, Iowa, US

B'nai Jacob Synagogue is a former Conservative synagogue in Ottumwa, Iowa. The originally Orthodox congregation was established in 1898, and it constructed the E. Main Street synagogue building in 1915, and joined the Conservative movement in the 1950s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">B'nai Israel Synagogue and Montefiore Cemetery</span> Synagogue and cemetery in North Dakota, US

B'nai Israel Synagogue and Montefiore Cemetery in Grand Forks, North Dakota, in the United States, consists of a Reform Jewish congregation and its synagogue; and the congregation's related cemetery. Both the synagogue building and the cemetery were added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">B'nai Israel Temple (Salt Lake City)</span> Historic former synagogue building in Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S.

B'nai Israel Temple is a historic former Jewish congregation and synagogue, located at 249 South 400 East in Salt Lake City, Utah, in the United States. The congregation was established in 1873, and the synagogue was built in 1890.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Temple Meir Chayim</span> Historic former Reform synagogue in McGehee, Arkansas, US

Temple Meir Chayim is a historic former Reform Jewish congregation and synagogue, located at 4th and Holly Streets in McGehee, Arkansas, in the United States. The building operated as a synagogue between 1947 and 2016; and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Historic Congregation B'nai Abraham</span> Historic Orthodox synagogue in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Historic Congregation B’nai Abraham, officially B’nai Abraham Chabad, is an Orthodox Jewish congregation and synagogue, located at 523-527 Lombard Street, in the Society Hill neighborhood of the Center City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States. Established as a congregation in 1874 and the current synagogue building completed in 1910, worshipers can access daily, Shabbat, and holy day services in the Ashkenazi rite. B'nai Abraham is home to a Jewish Preschool, as well as Lubavitch of Center City.

References

  1. 1 2 "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. "Shreveport, Louisiana - Congregation B'nai Zion Records". American Jewish Archives. Retrieved September 21, 2012.
  3. "History of B'Nai Zion". Goldring-Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life. Archived from the original on August 26, 2013. Retrieved September 21, 2012.
  4. 1 2 3 4 National Register Staff (November 1993). "National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: B'Nai Zion Temple". National Park Service. Retrieved April 10, 2018. With six photos from 1993.
  5. "Shreveport Commercial Historic District" (PDF). State of Louisiana's Division of Historic Preservation. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 14, 2018. Retrieved April 16, 2018.