The Jewish Center

 temple, synagogue, community centre / hall

10-story Neo-Renaissance synagogue and community center completed in 1920. Designed by Louis Allen Abramson, the building contains a large number of social halls, classrooms, auditoriums and offices in addition to the Neo-Classical main sanctuary. The synagogue was the first in America to be built not only to serve as spiritual home to its members, but also as a cultural, social and recreational home. The lower four floors were built first, with these completed in 1918; the upper section would be subsequently added.

The facade is clad in limestone at the lower section, rusticated at the 2-story base, with a low, grey granite water table. The upper floors are clad in red brick with stone trim, and the entire facade is organized into five bays. The ground floor has a central entrance, slightly projecting, with double-doors set under a fanlight with a keystone at the level of the 2nd floor. A rounded, red canvas canopy extends out over the sidewalk. To either side is a window opening and then a metal service door in the end bays. The 2nd floor has four short window openings recessed into the stone. The 3rd floor is set off by a stone cornice with a Greek fret pattern, projecting slightly more at the center bay above the entrance, where there are dentils and a small balcony with a stone balustrade. The 3rd-4th floors have fluted, 2-story piers between the bays, with modified Ionian capitals topped by panels carved with leaves, supporting a dentiled cornice (the original roof line). The 3rd floor has tall, round-arched windows, and the 4th floor has smaller rectangular windows flanked by delicate ogees and topped by simple, small cornices.

The 5th-9th floors are brick, with stone quoins at the ends. The 5th floor has square-headed windows with stone surrounds, including cornices with small scrolled brackets, and between each bay, a urn caps each pillar below. A simple stone string course sets off the 6th floor, where the middle three bays are replaced by a stone panel reading "JEWISH CENTER" and a shield on either side with the dates 1919 and 5680, linked by garlands. The 7th & 8th floors set underlined by thicker string courses, and the 7th floor has round-arched windows with stone surrounds. The 8th & 9th floors have smaller square-headed windows with stone surrounds and cornices. The 9th floor is topped by a stone cornice with dentils and modillions. The 10th floor lacks ornament and has five bays of paired windows.

The side elevations are clad in plain reddish-brown brick and have a few single-window openings.

www.jewishcenter.org/
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