Kol Ami Synagogue (Kol Ami) 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 Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

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 225 North Country Club Road, in

Tucson Tucson (; ; ) is a city in Pima County, Arizona, United States, and its county seat. It is the second-most populous city in Arizona, behind Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, with a population of 542,630 in the 2020 United States census. The Tucson ...

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

, in the United States. The congregation was formed through the 2021 consolidation of Temple Emanu-El (established in 1910 as The Hebrew Benevolent Society) and the Congregation Or Chadash, that was established in 1995. The leaders of Temple Emanu-El and Congregation Or Chadash began discussions about a potential merger in 2018. The merger of the two Reform congregations was consummated the following year, as Kol Ami. Rabbi Malcolm Cohen joined Kol Ami in July 2022 and Cantor Jennifer Benrey join Kol Ami in July 2024. As The Hebrew Benevolent Society, it was the first synagogue in the Arizona Territory and is the oldest congregation in the state; Emanu-el's original building, known as the Stone Avenue Temple, was built in 1910 and is the oldest synagogue building in Arizona. This Stone Avenue building, listed as a

contributing property In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic dist ...

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 ...

, has since been repurposed as the Tucson Jewish Museum & Holocaust Center.

History

Temple Emanu-El

The Jewish community had been meeting for prayer for some years and had begun raising funds for a synagogue in 1905. The congregation was incorporated March 20, 1910, as The Hebrew Benevolent Society and dedicated the first synagogue building, the Stone Avenue Temple, the first synagogue built in the Arizona Territory, on October 3, 1910, the eve of

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. In 1949 the congregation moved to a new building on North Country Club Road.

Stone Avenue Temple

Emanu-El's original building, the Stone Avenue Temple, was a brick structure designed by Ely Blount. Blount blended a

pediment Pediments are a form of gable in classical architecture, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the cornice (an elaborated lintel), or entablature if supported by columns.Summerson, 130 In an ...

ed,

pilaster In architecture, a pilaster is both a load-bearing section of thickened wall or column integrated into a wall, and a purely decorative element in classical architecture which gives the appearance of a supporting column and articulates an ext ...

Greek Revival Greek Revival architecture is a architectural style, style that began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe, the United States, and Canada, ...

façade A façade or facade (; ) is generally the front part or exterior of a building. It is a loanword from the French language, French (), which means "frontage" or "face". In architecture, the façade of a building is often the most important asp ...

with rounded windows and twin towers in

Rundbogenstil (round-arch style) is a 19th-century historic revival style of architecture popular in the German-speaking lands and the German diaspora. It combines elements of Byzantine, Romanesque, and Renaissance architecture with particular s ...

style. In 1937 the building was covered with stucco. The original stained-glass windows have been lost. In 1982, the building was listed in on the

as part of the Barrio Libre Historic District. Efforts to preserve the synagogue garnered national attention when it received the National Preservation Honor Award from the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The building currently houses the Tucson Jewish Museum & Holocaust Center.

= The museum

= The Tucson Jewish Museum & Holocaust Center, formerly known as the Jewish History Museum, and the Jewish Heritage Center of the Southwest, is a

Jewish museum A Jewish museum is a museum which focuses upon Jews and may refer seek to explore and share the Jewish experience in a given area. Notable Jewish museums include: Albania * Solomon Museum, Berat Australia * Jewish Museum of Australia, Melbourn ...

that was created in 2005 by the merger of the non-profit that was formed to rescue the building from destruction in 1998 – The Historic Stone Avenue Temple Project – with the Jewish Historical Society of Southern Arizona. The museum's building was the first synagogue built in the Arizona territory. The Holocaust museum serves as a center to advocate for the victims of the holocaust by telling survivor stories, specifically from survivors that now reside in Tucson, Arizona. In addition to its permanent collection, the museum hosts exhibitions, lectures, the annual Ketubah and Antique wedding gown exhibit and the Jewish Storytelling Festival as well as is the home of the Jewish Arizona Oral History Project.

Congregation Or Chadash

The congregation was formed on August 18, 1995 under the direction of Rabbi Thomas Louchheim, who previously was employed as an Assistant Rabbi at Temple Emanuel-El. The congregation was gifted a Torah from B’nai Sholem, an Orthodox congregation in

St. Joseph, Missouri St. Joseph is a city in and county seat of Buchanan County, Missouri, Buchanan County, Missouri, United States. A small portion of the city extends north into Andrew County, Missouri, Andrew County. Located on the Missouri River, it is the princ ...

. The congregation started a Jewish school and had over 104 students by late 1999. A property was purchased in 2002 with the assistance of donations and borrowings; and the house converted into a chapel, education facilities, and administrative offices.

Notes

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Emanu-El (Tucson) 1910 establishments in Arizona Territory 1995 establishments in Arizona 2005 establishments in Arizona 2019 establishments in Arizona 20th-century synagogues in the United States Former synagogues in Arizona Historic district contributing properties in Arizona Jewish museums in the United States Hebrew Benevolent Society Congregation Or Chadash Jewish History Museum Kol Ami Museums established in 2005 Museums in Tucson, Arizona National Register of Historic Places in Tucson, Arizona Reform synagogues in Arizona Religious buildings and structures in Tucson, Arizona Synagogues completed in 1910 Synagogues completed in 1949 Synagogues completed in 2002 Synagogues on the National Register of Historic Places in Arizona Synagogues preserved as museums