Commodore Uriah P. Levy Center and Jewish Chapel is the

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...

at the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of the Navy. The Naval Academy ...

, in Annapolis, Maryland. The center is named in honor of

Commodore Commodore may refer to: Ranks * Commodore (rank), a naval rank ** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom ** Commodore (United States) ** Commodore (Canada) ** Commodore (Finland) ** Commodore (Germany) or ''Kommodore'' * Air commodore ...

Uriah P. Levy (1792–-1862), the first Jewish commodore in the United States Navy, who is famous for refusing to flog his sailors.Facts: The Commodore Uriah P. Levy Center and Jewish Chapel
Public Affairs Office. U.S. Naval Academy official website. Retrieved 2010-03-18. The Levy Center is adjacent to Mitscher Hall and contains a 410-seat synagogue, a fellowship hall, a Character Learning Center, classrooms, and offices for the Brigade’s social director, the academic board, and the Academy’s Honor Board. Before the chapel was completed in 2005, Jewish midshipmen attended Congregation Knesset Israel in downtown Annapolis, The link includes a photo of the chapel interior. or held services in the interfaith chapel at Mitscher Hall.

History

The

groundbreaking ceremony Groundbreaking, also known as cutting, sod-cutting, turning the first sod, or a sod-turning ceremony, is a traditional ceremony in many cultures that celebrates the first day of construction for a building or other project. Such ceremonies are o ...

was held on November 2, 2003. The builder was the Whiting-Turner Contracting Company. The building was dedicated in September 2005. The link features an architectural rendering of the chapel interior. The Levy Center cost $8 million to design, build and furnish. Approximately $1.8 million was paid for with military construction funds. The remaining amount was paid for by private donations raised by the Friend of the Jewish Chapel, a campaign headed by Jewish alumni of the academy and others. It was given to the Academy upon completion. USNA-Jewish-Chapel

Architecture

The building was designed by Maryland architect Joseph Boggs. The entrance pavilion has elements related to the center bay of

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was previously the natio ...

Monticello Monticello ( ) was the primary plantation of Founding Father Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States, who began designing Monticello after inheriting land from his father at age 26. Located just outside Charlottesville, V ...

. Levy purchased Monticello in 1834 and restored it because of his admiration for Jefferson, who died in 1826. The chapel includes a nearly 45-foot-high wall that is a replica of the

Western Wall The Western Wall ( he, הַכּוֹתֶל הַמַּעֲרָבִי, HaKotel HaMa'aravi, the western wall, often shortened to the Kotel or Kosel), known in the West as the Wailing Wall, and in Islam as the Buraq Wall (Arabic: حَائِط � ...

in Jerusalem. The wall is made of

Jerusalem stone Jerusalem stone (Hebrew: אבן ירושלמית; Arabic: حجر القدس) is a name applied to various types of pale limestone, dolomite and dolomitic limestone, common in and around Jerusalem that have been used in building since ancient tim ...

. The roof of the building is constructed of copper. The architecture of the exterior is consistent with nearby

Bancroft Hall Bancroft Hall, at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, is said to be the largest contiguous set of academic dormitories in the U.S. Bancroft Hall, named after former U.S. Secretary of the Navy, and famous historian/author Geor ...

. The chapel was awarded the Maryland AIA Honor Awards 2006, Public Building of the Year; Institutional.Levy Center, U.S. Naval Academy
Archiplanet.org. Retrieved 2010-03-18.

Footnotes

References

*Honor: Uriah P. Levy Center and Jewish Chapel, by Pamela Lerner Jaccarino, Sandow Media (June 1, 2008) * ''Saving Monticello: The Levy Family's Epic Quest to Rescue the House that Jefferson Built'' (Free Press, 2001, hardcover; University of Virginia Press, 2003, paper) b
Marc Leepson

External links

Naval Academy Jewish Chapel
{{USNA Synagogues in Maryland United States Naval Academy buildings and structures University and college chapels in the United States Military chapels of the United States Unaffiliated synagogues in the United States Synagogues completed in 2005 Jewish-American military history Religious buildings and structures in Annapolis, Maryland 2005 establishments in Maryland

History

Architecture

See also

Footnotes

References

External links