B'nai Israel Temple is a historic former

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 249 South 400 East in

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

, in the United States. The congregation was established in 1873, and the synagogue was built in 1890.

History

The synagogue was built in 1890 and added to 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 1978. It replaced an older synagogue, which was located on the corner of 300 South and 200 West in downtown Salt Lake City. The building was originally planned to be a "facsimile in miniature" of Berlin's Fasanenstrasse Synagogue, as most of the congregation had originated in Germany, but plans were changed during construction. and The congregation observed an Orthodox style of worship until 1883, when it joined the Union of American Hebrew Congregations, the

Reform movement Reformism is a type of social movement that aims to bring a social system, social or also a political system closer to the community's ideal. A reform movement is distinguished from more Radicalism (politics), radical social movements such as re ...

. In 1885, the members who wanted B'nai Israel to continue to follow Orthodox tradition split off to form Congregation Montefiore (which later affiliated itself with

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

practices). In 1973, Montefiore and B'nai Israel merged to form Congregation Kol Ami, which is a member of both the Union for Reform Judaism and the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism. At the time the building was listed by the National Register of Historic Places in 1978, the building had been sold and was being used a restaurant. As of 2023, the building is used by Henriksen/Butler Design Group.

References

1873 establishments in Utah Territory 1973 disestablishments in Utah 19th-century synagogues in the United States German-Jewish culture in the United States Jewish organizations established in 1873 National Register of Historic Places in Salt Lake City Synagogues completed in 1890 Synagogues in Salt Lake City Synagogues on the National Register of Historic Places in Utah Former synagogues in Utah Synagogues in Utah {{US-synagogue-stub

History

See also

References