Beth Israel Synagogue was an historic
Orthodox
Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to:
Religion
* Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pa ...
synagogue building located at 31 Concord Street in the
South Norwalk
South Norwalk is a neighborhood in Norwalk, Connecticut which corresponds to the city's Second Taxing District. Often referred to as SoNo, the neighborhood was originally settled as Old Well, then chartered as the city of South Norwalk on August ...
section of
Norwalk, Connecticut. Built in 1906,
[ the ]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 Romanticist Orientalism. It reached the height of its popularity after the mid-19th centu ...
style building is the only known synagogue building in Connecticut
Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...
displaying Moorish onion domes
An onion dome is a dome whose shape resembles an onion. Such domes are often larger in diameter than the tholobate upon which they sit, and their height usually exceeds their width. These bulbous structures taper smoothly to a point.
It is a ty ...
, and is an unusual example of an urban wood-frame synagogue. Since 1972, the building has been owned and occupied by the Canaan Institutional Baptist Church. (Beth Israel's original Orthodox congregation is now known as ''Beth Israel Chabad of Norwalk/Westport'' and worships in a new building in East Norwalk.
Architecture and history
The former Beth Israel Synagogue building is located in South Norwalk, at the southwest corner of Concord Street and South Main Street. It is a two-story wood-frame structure, with a gabled roof and exterior finished in modern siding. Its main facade, facing Concord Street, is dominated by projecting square towers at each corner, each with an onion dome at its top. The left tower is larger and taller, with an octagonal section rising up above the main roof eave, while the right one is smaller and lacking in the octagonal section. Windows on the facade are in round-arch openings, with transom-like circular windows at the top of the opening, and either round-top or square-top sash windows below.[ and ]
The building was erected in 1906 for the Orthodox Beth Israel Congregation, which was organized in 1865 by German Jewish immigrants. The building is the only wood-frame synagogue known in the state. Its design was influenced by that of the 1872 Central Synagogue in New York City, which also has onion domes. While the onion domes are an unusual detail, the architecture is otherwise within usual standards for synagogues in Connecticut. The congregation remained here until construction of a new synagogue was finished in 1972. It has been owned by the Canaan Institutional Baptist Church since then.
See also
*
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beth Israel (Norwalk, Connecticut)
Synagogues on the National Register of Historic Places in Connecticut
Synagogues completed in 1906
Moorish Revival synagogues
Buildings and structures in Norwalk, Connecticut
Moorish Revival architecture in Connecticut
National Register of Historic Places in Fairfield County, Connecticut
Former synagogues in Connecticut
Orthodox synagogues in Connecticut
1906 establishments in Connecticut