Congregation B'nai Israel is a historic

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 ...

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 4401 Indian School Road NE, in

Albuquerque Albuquerque ( ; ), also known as ABQ, Burque, the Duke City, and in the past 'the Q', is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Bernalillo County, New Mexico, Bernal ...

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

, in the United States. The building is notable for its distinctive

Expressionist Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...

design by George Wynn, including an unusual undulating conical roof formed from polyurethane foam, as well as its importance in the city's Jewish community. The synagogue was completed in 1971 and was listed on the

New Mexico State Register of Cultural Properties The New Mexico State Register of Cultural Properties is a register of historic and prehistoric properties located in the state of New Mexico. It is maintained by the New Mexico Historic Preservation Division of the New Mexico Department of Cultural ...

and 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 2019.

History

Congregation B'nai Israel was established in 1920, meeting in various temporary locations until the first synagogue was completed in 1941 at Coal and Cedar. By the 1960s, the congregation needed more room to expand and purchased a new site at Indian School and Washington. Fundraising for the new building began in 1967 but was put on hold when the congregation decided to send most of the money to support Israel in the

Six-Day War The Six-Day War, also known as the June War, 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states, primarily United Arab Republic, Egypt, Syria, and Jordan from 5 to 10June ...

instead. The campaign was restarted in 1968, and ground was broken on the new building in December 1969. The synagogue was formally dedicated in December 1971 and has remained in use since. The lobby was expanded and remodeled in 1990. In 2019, the building was added to the

and the

Architecture

The synagogue was designed by local architect George Wynn and comprises a large circular sanctuary with an adjoining social hall and education wing at the rear. The sanctuary is in diameter and high with a distinctive

polyurethane Polyurethane (; often abbreviated PUR and PU) is a class of polymers composed of organic chemistry, organic units joined by carbamate (urethane) links. In contrast to other common polymers such as polyethylene and polystyrene, polyurethane term ...

foam roof shaped like a ribbed tent. The roof is supported by twelve massive pre-stressed laminated

fir Firs are evergreen coniferous trees belonging to the genus ''Abies'' () in the family Pinaceae. There are approximately 48–65 extant species, found on mountains throughout much of North and Central America, Eurasia, and North Africa. The genu ...

beams, each weighing over , which were shipped from Oregon by rail. Wynn said he chose the design simply for its emotional impact, and that allusions to the

Twelve Tribes of Israel The Twelve Tribes of Israel ( , ) are described in the Hebrew Bible as being the descendants of Jacob, a Patriarchs (Bible), Hebrew patriarch who was a son of Isaac and thereby a grandson of Abraham. Jacob, later known as Israel (name), Israel, ...

and the desert tents of the

Exodus Exodus or the Exodus may refer to: Religion * Book of Exodus, second book of the Hebrew Torah and the Christian Bible * The Exodus, the biblical story of the migration of the ancient Israelites from Egypt into Canaan Historical events * Ex ...

were coincidental, though appropriate. The space between the beams is filled in with brown brick curtain walls with a glass

clerestory A clerestory ( ; , also clearstory, clearstorey, or overstorey; from Old French ''cler estor'') is a high section of wall that contains windows above eye-level. Its purpose is to admit light, fresh air, or both. Historically, a ''clerestory' ...

under the

eaves The eaves are the edges of the roof which overhang the face of a wall and, normally, project beyond the side of a building. The eaves form an overhang to throw water clear of the walls and may be highly decorated as part of an architectural sty ...

. The interior of the sanctuary has about 500 seats and a ribbed ceiling of knotty

spruce A spruce is a tree of the genus ''Picea'' ( ), a genus of about 40 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal ecosystem, boreal (taiga) regions of the Northern hemisphere. ''Picea'' ...

with a skylight at the apex. The rear wing is two stories in height with brown brick walls and a flat roof.

References

External links

* {{Synagogues in the United States 1920 establishments in New Mexico 20th-century synagogues in the United States Buildings and structures in Albuquerque, New Mexico Conservative synagogues in the United States Jewish organizations established in 1972 Modernist architecture in New Mexico Modernist synagogues National Register of Historic Places in Albuquerque, New Mexico New Mexico State Register of Cultural Properties Properties of religious function on the National Register of Historic Places in New Mexico Round and octagonal synagogues Synagogues completed in 1971 Synagogues in New Mexico