*** Welcome to piglix ***

Congregation Beth Elohim

Congregation Beth Elohim
The front entrance of a hexagonal building capped by a dome is visible, facing a street-corner. The entranceway is framed by large stone columns and flanked by metal seven branched menorahs on each side. There are four wooden doors, one on each side and two in the middle, topped by a large arched stained-glass window. A stone stairway with metal railings on each side leads up from the sidewalk to the doors.
Sanctuary main entrance
Basic information
Location 274 Garfield Place & Eighth Avenue,
Park Slope, Brooklyn,
New York City, United States
Geographic coordinates 40°40′16″N 73°58′27″W / 40.671093°N 73.9742°W / 40.671093; -73.9742Coordinates: 40°40′16″N 73°58′27″W / 40.671093°N 73.9742°W / 40.671093; -73.9742
Affiliation Reform Judaism
Status Active
Leadership Senior Rabbi: Rachel Timoner
Associate Rabbi: Marc Katz
Rabbi Emeritus: Gerald I. Weider
Cantor: Joshua Breitzer
Website www.congregationbethelohim.org
Architectural description
Architect(s) Sanctuary:
Simon Eisendrath & B. Horowitz
Temple House:
Mortimer Freehof & David Levy
Architectural style Sanctuary: Classical Revival
Temple House: "Jewish Deco"
(Romanesque Revival and Art Deco)
Groundbreaking Sanctuary: 1909
Temple House: 1928
Completed Sanctuary: 1910
Temple House: 1929
Specifications
Direction of façade Sanctuary: West
Capacity Sanctuary: 1,200
Dome(s) Sanctuary: 1
Materials Temple House: Cast stone

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

Founded in 1861 as a more liberal breakaway from Congregation Baith Israel, for the first 65 years it attempted four mergers with other congregations, including three with Baith Israel, all of which failed. The congregation completed its current Classical Revival synagogue building in 1910 and its "Jewish Deco" (Romanesque Revival and Art Deco) Temple House in 1929. These two buildings were contributing properties to the Park Slope historic district, listed as a New York City Landmark district and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The congregation went through difficult times during the Great Depression, and the bank almost foreclosed on its buildings in 1946. Membership dropped significantly in the 1930s because of the Depression, grew after World War II, and dropped again in the 1960s and 1970s as a result of demographic shifts. Programs for young children helped draw Jewish families back into the neighborhood and revitalize the membership.


...
Wikipedia

...