Temple Zion and School

Last updated

Temple Zion and School
TempleZionAndSchoolAppletonWI.jpg
Former synagogue in 2010, following restoration. Glimpses of the former school can be seen in the background.
Religion
Affiliation Judaism (former)
Ecclesiastical or organizational status
Ownership
  • Zion Congregation
    (1883 1932)
  • First Assembly of God
    (1932 1977)
  • Outagamie County Historical Society
    (1977 1999)
  • Wahl Organbuilders
    (since 1999)
StatusActive
Location
Location320 North Durkee Street, Appleton, Wisconsin
CountryUnited States
USA Wisconsin relief location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location in Wisconsin
Geographic coordinates 44°15′53″N88°24′09″W / 44.26474°N 88.40246°W / 44.26474; -88.40246
Architecture
Architect(s) Charles Hove
TypeSynagogue
Style Stick/Eastlake
Date establishedc.1850s(as a congregation)
Completed1883
Materials Clapboard
Temple Zion and School
NRHP reference No. 78000123
Added to NRHPSeptember 18, 1978

The Temple Zion and School is a former Jewish synagogue located at 320 North Durkee Street, and a Jewish day school located at 309 East Harris Street, both in Appleton, Wisconsin, in the United States. The synagogue was built in 1883 and was subsequently used as a church from 1932 until 1977; when it was sold to the Outagamie County Historical Society for use as a history museum. In 1999 the former synagogue and school were acquired by interested associated with the Wahl family.

Contents

In 1978, the former temple and school were added to the National Register of Historic Places. [1]

History

The Zion Congregation was formed in the 1850's by a group of liberal German-Jewish immigrants. Rabbi Mayer Samuel Weiss, from Hungary, was the first rabbi, elected in 1874. The synagogue was completed and dedicated in September 1883. According to a plaque outside the building, Houdini's father, Rabbi Mayer Samuel Weiss, helped plan the temple, which was "built with the financial support of many in Appleton regardless of their religion or background." The congregation added a small school behind the synagogue, where Edna Ferber was an early student, devoting a chapter to her life in Appleton in her 1938 memoir. [2]

Temple Zion is a wonderful example of 19th century vernacular architecture. The building is not especially Jewish in style but rather a unique religious space as interpreted by Midwestern German craftsmen. The building was designed by Charles Hove.

By the 1920s, the congregation was in decline. [2] They sold the synagogue building to the First Assembly of God in 1932, for the sum of $7,000. The church, at the time known as Pentecostal Evangelical Tabernacle, became affiliated with the General Council of the Assemblies of God and changed its name to Appleton Gospel Temple. [3] The church renovated the interior in the 1950s. In 1977 the church sold the former synagogue and school buildings to Outagamie County Historic Society, and the building housed a museum, history workshop, and associated offices. [2]

Unable to maintain its upkeep, Wahl Organbuilders, LLC, owned by Ronald and Christoph Wahl, purchased the former synagogue in May 1999. The building was empty and had serious visual and structural problems. Wahl Organbuilders restored the exterior of the building to its original appearance with a phased program of restoration. All four sides of the building proper as well as the smaller 'schoolhouse' building east of Temple Zion were restored to original colors, from recovered paint samples. [4]

The Augustus B. Felgemaker organ was built in Erie, Pennsylvania and installed in the Temple in 1907. The organ had two manuals and pedal with nine stops. It was removed by the owners in 1996 and re-installed in the Lawrence University Memorial Chapel in 1999. [4]

Notable members

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Congregation Beth Israel (West Hartford, Connecticut)</span> United States historic place

Congregation Beth Israel is a synagogue located in West Hartford, Connecticut. The synagogue is one of the two oldest Jewish congregations in Connecticut and one of the largest Reform Jewish congregations in New England, with about 900 member families and about 2,000 individual members.

<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">Rodef Shalom Congregation</span> Reform synagogue in Easton, Pennsylvania, United States

Rodef Shalom Congregation is an historic Reform Jewish congregation and synagogue located at 4905 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the United States. The landmark building was designed by architect Henry Hornbostel and completed in the Beaux-Arts style.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Congregation Beth Elohim</span> Reform Jewish congregation in Brooklyn, New York, US

Congregation Beth Elohim, also known as the Garfield Temple and the Eighth Avenue Temple, is a Reform Jewish congregation and historic synagogue located at 274 Garfield Place and Eighth Avenue, in the Park Slope neighborhood of Brooklyn in New York City, New York, in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Isaac M. Wise Temple</span> United States historic place

The Isaac M. Wise Temple is the historic synagogue erected for Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise and his congregation in Cincinnati, Ohio. Wise was among the founders of American Reform Judaism. The temple building was designed by prominent Cincinnati architect James Keys Wilson. Its design was inspired by the Alhambra at Granada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jewish Museum of Florida</span> Jewish Heritage Museum in Florida, United States

The Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU is located in two restored historic buildings that were formerly synagogues, at 301 & 311 Washington Ave., in Miami Beach, Florida. The main museum building, at 301 Washington Ave., was built in 1936, is on the National Register of Historic Places, has Art Deco features, a copper dome, a marble bimah and 80 stained glass windows. The adjacent building located at 311 Washington, which served as Miami Beach's first synagogue, was purchased by the museum in 2005 and restored in 2007 as a museum expansion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History Museum at the Castle</span> Museum in Appleton, Wisconsin

The History Museum at the Castle is a local history museum located in downtown Appleton, Wisconsin across College Avenue from Lawrence University. Owned and operated by the Outagamie County Historical Society (OCHS), the museum has previously operated under the names The Outagamie Museum and The Houdini Historic Center. The building was earlier known as Masonic Temple. In 2018 the museum was a recipient of the 2018 National Medal for Museum and Library Service, the highest honor given to a museum or library in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Congregation Beth Israel Ner Tamid (Milwaukee)</span> United States historic place

Congregation Beth Israel Ner Tamid is an egalitarian Conservative synagogue located at 6880 North Green Bay Road in Glendale, a suburb north of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Congregation Beth Israel (Houston)</span>

Congregation Beth Israel is a Reform Jewish congregation and synagogue located at 5600 North Braeswood Boulevard, in Houston, Texas, in the United States. The congregation, founded in 1854, is the oldest Jewish congregation in Texas; and it operates the Shlenker School.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Temple Emanuel (Denver)</span> United States historic place

The Temple Emanuel in Denver, Colorado, also known as Congregation Emanuel, is a Reform (progressive) Jewish synagogue. It was the first synagogue established in Colorado. There are historic buildings of the temple on Curtis Street, Grape Street, and Pearl Street, in Denver.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Union Temple of Brooklyn</span> Historical former Reform synagogue in Brooklyn, New York, US

The Union Temple of Brooklyn was a Reform Jewish synagogue located at 17 Eastern Parkway between Underhill Avenue and Plaza Street East in the Prospect Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York City, across the street from the Brooklyn Public Library, the Brooklyn Museum, and the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. On March 26, 2021 Union Temple merged with Congregation Beth Elohim.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Temple Beth-El (Jersey City, New Jersey)</span> Reform Jewish synagogue in Jersey City, New Jersey, US

Temple Beth-El is a Reform Jewish synagogue located at 2419 Kennedy Boulevard in the Bergen Section of Jersey City, Hudson County, New Jersey, in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Temple Society of Concord</span> Reform synagogue in Syracuse, New York (state), US

The Temple Society of Concord, commonly referred to as Temple Concord, is a Reform Jewish congregation and synagogue located at 910 Madison Street, in Syracuse, Onondaga County, New York, in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Temple Israel of the City of New York</span> Reform synagogue in Manhattan, New York, US

Temple Israel of the City of New York is a Reform Jewish congregation and synagogue located at 112 East 75th Street, on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City, New York, in the United States. The congregation was incorporated by German Jews in 1873.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">B'nai Jacob Synagogue (Ottumwa, Iowa)</span> United States historic place

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">Temple Beth Zion (Buffalo, New York)</span> Reform synagogue in Buffalo, New York (state), US

Temple Beth Zion is a Reform Jewish synagogue located at 805 Delaware Avenue, in Buffalo, Erie County, New York, in the United States. Founded in 1850, Temple Beth Zion is the largest Jewish congregation in Western New York and one of the oldest and largest Reform congregations in the nation. Originally an Orthodox congregation, TBZ reorganized as a Reform congregation in 1863.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Congregation Temple Israel (Creve Coeur, Missouri)</span> Reform synagogue in Creve Coeur, Missouri, United Stares

Congregation Temple Israel is a Reform Jewish synagogue located at 1 Rabbi Alvan D. Rubin Drive, in Creve Coeur, St. Louis County, Missouri, in the United States. Constructing three different synagogue buildings during its history, the second synagogue, built in 1907, is a contributing property to the National Register of Historic Places-listing for the Holy Corners Historic District in the center of St. Louis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ahavas Shalom Reform Temple</span> United States historic place

Ahavas Shalom Reform Temple ) is an historic synagogue building located in Ligonier, Noble County, Indiana at 503 Main Street, built in 1889. It is located in the Ligonier Historic District.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neziner Congregation</span> Former Philadelphian synagogue

The Neziner Congregation was a synagogue in the Southwark neighborhood of South Philadelphia. The congregation was founded in 1896 by immigrants from the city of Nizhyn in the Ukraine who met in members’ homes. The congregation purchased the building at 771 S 2nd Street in 1905 and held services and community events there until 1984 when it closed and merged with Temple Beth Zion-Beth Israel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Temple Beth Zion-Beth Israel</span> Synagogue in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania founded in 1946

Temple Beth Zion-Beth Israel is a Conservative synagogue located in the Center City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States.

References

  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. July 9, 2010. Retrieved November 13, 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Nomination Form: Temple Zion and School". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. September 18, 1978. Retrieved December 21, 2023.
  3. "Our history". Hope Church. Assemblies of God. n.d. Retrieved December 21, 2023.
  4. 1 2 3 "Temple Zion". Wahl Organbuilders, LLC. 2023. Retrieved December 21, 2023.
  5. Commemorative plaque sponsored by the City of Appleton and the Outagamie Museum.

Additional reading

Commons-logo.svg Media related to Temple Zion and School at Wikimedia Commons