Wilshire Boulevard Temple
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Congregation B'nai B'rith
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Wilshire Boulevard Temple
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| Location | 3663 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, California |
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| Coordinates | 34°3′45″N 118°18′11″W / 34.06250°N 118.30306°WCoordinates: 34°3′45″N 118°18′11″W / 34.06250°N 118.30306°W |
| Built | 1928 |
| Architect | Edelman,A.M.; Norton, S. Tilden |
| Architectural style | Byzantine Revival |
| NRHP Reference # | 81000154 |
| LAHCM # | 116 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | 21 December 1981 |
| Designated LAHCM | March 21, 1973 |
Wilshire Boulevard Temple, known from 1862 to 1933 as Congregation B'nai B'rith, is the oldest Jewish congregation in Los Angeles, California. Wilshire Boulevard Temple's main building, its sanctuary topped by a large Byzantine revival dome and decorated with interior murals, is a City of Los Angeles Historic Cultural Monument and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Moorish-style building, located on Wilshire Boulevard in the Wilshire Center district, was completed in 1929 and was designed by architect Abram M. Edelman (son of the congregation's first rabbi, Abraham Edelman).
Wilshire Boulevard Temple is one of the largest Jewish congregations in Los Angeles, and has been led by several influential rabbis, especially Edgar Magnin, who has been described as the "John Wayne" of rabbis and who served for 69 years from 1915 to 1984. A second campus, on the Westside, opened in 1998. Despite repeated reports that the congregation might sell its older, landmark building, the temple began extensive renovations of the historic facility in 2008, and the remodeled sanctuary reopened in 2013.
Wilshire Boulevard Temple traces its origins to the first Jewish worship service in Los Angeles, held in 1851. In 1862, a small community of Los Angeles Jews received its charter from the state to found Congregation B’nai B’rith. Worship was led by a layman, Joseph Newmark, until Abraham Wolf Edelman was hired as the first rabbi. Long overshadowed by the more prosperous San Francisco Jewish community, L.A.'s Jews managed to erect the congregation's first building, an impressive brick Gothic Revival style synagogue built in 1873 at the corner of Temple and Broadway in downtown Los Angeles. It was described by the Los Angeles Star as “the most superior church edifice in Southern California.”
By 1885 much of the congregation was pushing to move away from Orthodox practice, and Rabbi Edelman eventually resigned. Ephraim Schreiber was hired as rabbi in 1885 and adopted some reforms, but soon left. Abraham Blum was hired in 1889, but was forced out in 1895 and replaced by Moses G. Solomon.
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