Temple Beth Israel (

transliterated Transliteration is a type of conversion of a text from one writing system, script to another that involves swapping Letter (alphabet), letters (thus ''wikt:trans-#Prefix, trans-'' + ''wikt:littera#Latin, liter-'') in predictable ways, such as ...

from

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

as "House of Israel"), sometimes called Charter Oak Temple, is an historic former

Reform Reform refers to the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc. The modern usage of the word emerged in the late 18th century and is believed to have originated from Christopher Wyvill's Association movement, which ...

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 ...

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 ...

and later

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

building, now cultural center, located at 21 Charter Oak Avenue, in

Hartford Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

, in the United States. The congregation, established in 1843, and located in

West Hartford West Hartford is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States, west of downtown Hartford. The town is part of the Capitol Planning Region. The population was 64,083 at the 2020 census. The town's popular downtown area is colloquiall ...

since 1936, is one of the two oldest Jewish congregations in Connecticut and one of the largest Reform congregations in

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

, with about 900 member families and about 2,000 individual members. Designed by George Keller in the

Romanesque Revival Romanesque Revival (or Neo-Romanesque) is a style of building employed beginning in the mid-19th century inspired by the 11th- and 12th-century Romanesque architecture. Unlike the historic Romanesque style, Romanesque Revival buildings tended t ...

style and completed in 1876, the former synagogue building is the oldest purpose-built synagogue in Connecticut. The former synagogue building was 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. After being rescued from threatened demolition, the building now houses a local cultural center.

Description and history

The former Temple Beth Israel building is located south of downtown Hartford in the Sheldon-Charter Oak neighborhood. It is on the south side of Charter Oak Avenue, just east its junction with Main Street and west of Charter Oak Park. The synagogue was designed by Keller and built in 1875-76 for a Jewish congregation established in 1843. In 1843

the State A state is a political entity that regulates society and the population within a definite territory. Government is considered to form the fundamental apparatus of contemporary states. A country often has a single state, with various administrat ...

, at the instigation of the congregation's leadership, passed a law making it possible for Jewish congregations to build synagogues. The

foundation stone A cornerstone (or foundation stone or setting stone) is the first stone set in the construction of a masonry Foundation (engineering), foundation. All other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entir ...

was laid on September 25, 1875, as reported in a local newspaper: It is a 2- story red brick structure with a

brownstone Brownstone is a brown Triassic–Jurassic sandstone that was historically a popular building material. The term is also used in the United States and Canada to refer to a townhouse clad in this or any other aesthetically similar material. Ty ...

foundation and stone trim. It has a gabled roof, flanked at the front by two towers with octagonal domed

cupola In architecture, a cupola () is a relatively small, usually dome-like structure on top of a building often crowning a larger roof or dome. Cupolas often serve as a roof lantern to admit light and air or as a lookout. The word derives, via Ital ...

s. Windows and entrances are set in round-arch openings in the Romanesque style. It is the only known High Victorian

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Romanesque work of Keller, who was one of Hartford's leading architects of the second half of the 20th century. The temple was used by that congregation until 1935, when it was sold for $31,000 to the Calvary Temple, a

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

congregation, which occupied it until 1974. At the time of its listing on the

in 1978, the building was owned by the Hartford Redevelopment Agency and despite attempts to put it to other uses, remained unoccupied. After standing vacant for some years, in the late 1970s the city threatened to demolish it. Jewish groups around the state organized to preserve it, and it now houses the Charter Oak Cultural Center. The building was one of fifteen Connecticut synagogues added to the

in 1995 and 1996 in response to an unprecedented multiple submission, nominating nineteen synagogues.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Beth Israel (Hartford, Connecticut) 1876 establishments in Connecticut 19th-century synagogues in the United States Buildings and structures in Hartford, Connecticut Calvary, Hartford, Connecticut Former churches in Connecticut Former synagogues in Connecticut George Keller buildings National Register of Historic Places in Hartford, Connecticut Romanesque Revival architecture in Connecticut Romanesque Revival synagogues Synagogues completed in 1876 Synagogues on the National Register of Historic Places in Connecticut

Description and history

See also

References

External links