Commodore Uriah P. Levy Center and Jewish Chapel | |
---|---|
Religion | |
Affiliation | Judaism |
Ecclesiastical or organizational status | Synagogue |
Status | Active |
Location | |
Location | Annapolis, Maryland |
Country | United States |
Location within Maryland | |
Geographic coordinates | 38°58′49″N76°28′52″W / 38.980278°N 76.481189°W |
Architecture | |
Architect(s) | Joseph Boggs |
General contractor | The Whiting-Turner Contracting Company |
Groundbreaking | November 2, 2003 |
Completed | 2005 |
Construction cost | $8 million |
Specifications | |
Interior area | 35,000 square feet (3,300 m2) |
Materials | Jerusalem stone |
Website | |
usna | |
[1] [2] |
Commodore Uriah P. Levy Center and Jewish Chapel is the Jewish chapel at the United States Naval Academy, in Annapolis, Maryland.
The center is named in honor of Commodore Uriah P. Levy (1792–-1862), the first Jewish commodore in the United States Navy, who is famous for refusing to flog his sailors. [3] [2] The Levy Center is adjacent to Mitscher Hall and contains a 410-seat synagogue, a fellowship hall, a Character Learning Center, classrooms, and offices for the Brigade's social director, the academic board, and the academy's Honor Board. [2]
Before the chapel was completed in 2005, Jewish midshipmen attended Congregation Knesset Israel in downtown Annapolis, [4] or held services in the interfaith chapel at Mitscher Hall.
The groundbreaking ceremony was held on November 2, 2003, [2] and the building was dedicated in September 2005. [5]
The Levy Center cost $8 million to design, build and furnish; of which approximately $1.8 million was paid for with military construction funds, [2] and the remaining amount was paid for by donations raised by the Friend of the Jewish Chapel, a campaign headed by Jewish alumni of the academy and others. [2] [1]
The 35,000-square-foot (3,300 m2) building was designed by Maryland architect Joseph Boggs [1] and was built by The Whiting-Turner Contracting Company. [2] The entrance pavilion has elements related to the center bay of Thomas Jefferson's Monticello. Levy purchased Monticello in 1834 and restored it because of his admiration for Jefferson, who died in 1826. [4] The chapel includes a nearly 45-foot (14 m) high wall that is a replica of the Western Wall in Jerusalem. The wall is made of Jerusalem stone. [4] The roof of the building is constructed of copper. [2] The architecture of the exterior is consistent with nearby Bancroft Hall.
The chapel was awarded the Maryland AIA Honor Awards 2006, Public Building of the Year; Institutional. [6]
Monticello was the primary plantation of Thomas Jefferson, a Founding Father and the third president of the United States, who began designing Monticello after inheriting land from his father at age 14. Located just outside Charlottesville, Virginia, in the Piedmont region, the plantation was originally 5,000 acres (20 km2), with Jefferson using the labor of African slaves for extensive cultivation of tobacco and mixed crops, later shifting from tobacco cultivation to wheat in response to changing markets. Due to its architectural and historic significance, the property has been designated a National Historic Landmark. In 1987, Monticello and the nearby University of Virginia, also designed by Jefferson, were together designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The current nickel, a United States coin, features a depiction of Monticello on its reverse side.
The United States Naval Academy is a federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of the Navy. The Naval Academy is the second oldest of the five U.S. service academies and it educates midshipmen for service in the officer corps of the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps. It is part of the Naval University System. The 338-acre (137 ha) campus is located on the former grounds of Fort Severn at the confluence of the Severn River and Chesapeake Bay in Anne Arundel County, 33 miles (53 km) east of Washington, D.C., and 26 miles (42 km) southeast of Baltimore. The entire campus, known colloquially as the Yard, is a National Historic Landmark and home to many historic sites, buildings, and monuments. It replaced Philadelphia Naval Asylum in Philadelphia that had served as the first United States Naval Academy from 1838 to 1845 when the Naval Academy formed in Annapolis.
Arleigh Albert Burke was an admiral of the United States Navy who distinguished himself during World War II and the Korean War, and who served as Chief of Naval Operations during the Eisenhower and Kennedy administrations.
Jefferson Monroe Levy was a three-term U.S. Congressman from New York, a leader of the New York Democratic Party, and a renowned real estate and stock speculator.
Uriah Phillips Levy was a naval officer, real estate investor, and philanthropist. He was a veteran of the War of 1812 and the first Jewish Commodore of the United States Navy. He was instrumental in helping to end the Navy's practice of flogging, and during his half-century-long service prevailed against the antisemitism he faced among some of his fellow naval officers.
Jonas Phillips Levy (1807–1883) was an American merchant and sea captain. Levy was granted the "freedom of the country" by the government of Peru for signal services rendered in the Peruvian Navy.
USS Levy (DE-162) was a Cannon-class destroyer escort, named in honor of Commodore Uriah P. Levy (1792–1862), a notable figure of the 19th-century Navy.
The United States Naval Academy Chapel in Annapolis, Maryland, is one of nine designated chapel spaces on the grounds of the United States Navy's service academy. Protestant and Catholic services are held there. The Brigade Chapel is a focal point of the Academy and the city of Annapolis. The chapel is an important feature which led to the Academy being designated a National Historic Landmark in 1961.
The National Museum of American Jewish Military History (NMAJMH) was founded September 2, 1958, in Washington, D.C., to document and preserve "the contributions of Jewish Americans to the peace and freedom of the United States...[and to educate] the public concerning the courage, heroism and sacrifices made by Jewish Americans who served in the armed forces." It operates under the auspices of the Jewish War Veterans of the United States of America (JWV), National Memorial, Inc. (NMI), and is located at 1811 R Street NW, Washington, D.C., in the Dupont Circle area, in the same building that houses the JWV National Headquarters.
Jewish Americans have served in the United States armed forces dating back to before the colonial era, when Jews had served in militias of the Thirteen Colonies. Jewish military personnel have served in all branches of the armed forces and in every major armed conflict to which the United States has been involved. According to the U.S. Department of Defense, as of 2006 there were currently 3,973 known Jewish servicemen and servicewomen on active duty.
The Commodore Levy Chapel, established in 1942 and renamed in 1959 in honor of Uriah P. Levy, is the United States Navy's oldest Jewish chapel, located at Naval Station Norfolk, in Norfolk, Virginia. It is part of a chapel complex in the Naval Station's Frazier Hall that also includes Catholic, Protestant, and Muslim Chapels.
Commodore Uriah P. Levy Chapel may refer to:
Levy Chapel may refer to:
Commodore Levy Jewish Chapel may refer to:
Levy Jewish Chapel may refer to:
Uriah P. Levy Chapel may refer to:
Commodore Levy Jewish synagogue may refer to:
The Reverend Prof. George Jones was a minister of the Episcopal Church, United States Navy chaplain, academic, and writer.
A statue of American Founding Father and U.S. President Thomas Jefferson by the French sculptor David d'Angers stands in the Capitol rotunda of the U.S. Congress. Jefferson is portrayed holding a copy of the United States Declaration of Independence, which he mainly drafted in 1776 as a member of the Committee of Five during the Second Continental Congress. The painted plaster model also stood in the chambers of the New York City Council.