Congregation Beth Israel is a

Reform Reform refers to the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc. The modern usage of the word emerged in the late 18th century and is believed to have originated from Christopher Wyvill's Association movement, which ...

Jewish congregation and

synagogue A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...

, located at 1931 NW Flanders Street,

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: *Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

, in the United States.

History

The congregation was founded in 1858, while Oregon was still a

territory A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, belonging or connected to a particular country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually a geographic area which has not been granted the powers of self-government, ...

, and built its first synagogue in 1859. The congregation's first building was a modest, single story, pitched-roof, wood-framed, clapboard building with Gothic pointed-arch windows and door. Pc-temple-beth-israel-1800

This early structure was replaced by an 1889 synagogue building, which was destroyed by fire in December 1923. Designed by Portland architect Warren H. Williams, the building, described as

Moorish Revival Moorish Revival or Neo-Moorish is one of the exotic revival architectural styles that were adopted by architects of Europe and the Americas in the wake of Romanticism, Romanticist Orientalism. It reached the height of its popularity after the mi ...

design in some sources, is elsewhere described as a combination of eclectic and

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

styles, with two towers topped by bulbous domes. ''

The Oregonian ''The Oregonian'' is a daily newspaper based in Portland, Oregon, United States, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the West Coast of the United States, U.S. West Coast, founded as a weekly by Tho ...

'' newspaper in 1923 described its style as "semi-Gothic and Mooresque". It was located at S.W. 12th and Main Streets in

downtown Portland Downtown Portland is the central business district of Portland, Oregon, United States. It is on the west bank of the Willamette River in the northeastern corner of the southwest section of the city and where most of the city's high-rise buildi ...

. Its two towers were tall, and the main interior space measured , and featured an arched ceiling high. It was replaced in 1928 by a notable

Neo-Byzantine Neo-Byzantine architecture (also referred to as Byzantine Revival) was a Revivalism (architecture), revival movement, most frequently seen in religious, institutional and public buildings. It incorporates elements of the Byzantine architecture, ...

synagogue building at N.W. 19th and Flanders that continues to serve the congregation. This building was listed as Temple Beth Israel on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1979, and is considered one of the finest examples of Neo-Byzantine-style architecture on the west coast. The building was inspired by the Alte Synagoge (Steelerstrasse Synagogue) in

Essen Essen () is the central and, after Dortmund, second-largest city of the Ruhr, the largest urban area in Germany. Its population of makes it the fourth-largest city of North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne, Düsseldorf and Dortmund, as well as ...

, Germany. The interior of Steelerstrasse, the first modern synagogue in Germany, was praised as Germany's most beautiful; however it was destroyed during

Kristallnacht ( ) or the Night of Broken Glass, also called the November pogrom(s) (, ), was a pogrom against Jews carried out by the Nazi Party's (SA) and (SS) paramilitary forces along with some participation from the Hitler Youth and German civilia ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Beth Israel (Portland, Oregon) Ashkenazi synagogues in the United States Religious buildings and structures in Portland, Oregon Jews and Judaism in Portland, Oregon Byzantine Revival synagogues Properties of religious function on the National Register of Historic Places in Oregon Synagogues on the National Register of Historic Places Byzantine Revival architecture in Oregon Reform synagogues in Oregon Synagogues in Oregon Synagogue buildings with domes National Register of Historic Places in Portland, Oregon 20th-century synagogues in the United States Herman Brookman buildings Moorish Revival synagogues Moorish Revival architecture in the United States Synagogues completed in 1928 1858 establishments in Oregon Territory Jewish organizations established in 1858 Buildings and structures in Northwest District, Portland, Oregon

History

See also

References

External links