Temple Beth Zion is a Reform

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 ...

located at 805 Delaware Avenue, in Buffalo, Erie County, New York, in the United States. Founded in 1850, Temple Beth Zion is the largest Jewish congregation in Western New York and one of the oldest and largest Reform congregations in the nation. Originally an Orthodox congregation, TBZ reorganized as a Reform congregation in 1863. The Max Abramovitz-designed scalloped oval Modernist building features ten scallop walls, each a symbol of the 10 commandments, and two commandment tablets. The synagogue walls rise from the entrance, flaring outward at 15 degrees, firmly anchored to a pedestal below ground level. Ben Shahn, an artist, painter and calligrapher, designed the

sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred space, sacred place, such as a shrine, protected by ecclesiastical immunity. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This seconda ...

's stained windows, the Commandment Tablets, and the menorah. The synagogue contains a Casavant Frères 48-rank, 4000-pipe organ. The synagogue was listed on 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 2018, located within the Delaware Avenue Historic District. The Benjamin and Dr. Edgar R. Cofeld Judaic Museum, co-located adjacent to the synagogue, features a rotating collection of Judaica.

Previous buildings

Before building their current synagogue, the congregation worshiped in two previous buildings. The first building was the old Niagara Street Methodist Church (between Pearl Street and Franklin Street). The church was renovated, rededicated, and used as the home of Temple Beth Zion until 1886. The second building was a

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

-styled, copper-domed temple built in 1890, designed by Edward Austin Kent, and located at 599 Delaware Avenue (now the site of the Clinical Research Center). That building was destroyed in a fire in 1961.

Gallery

Temple Beth Zion (Buffalo, New York) - 1890 building.jpg, Temple Beth Zion, 1896 Temple Beth Zion 2.jpg, Entrance to the modernist synagogue, in 2011 Temple Beth Zion sign 2.jpg, Sign adjacent to the synagogue

References

External links

* 1850 establishments in New York (state) 20th-century synagogues in the United States Buildings and structures in Buffalo, New York Jewish museums in New York (state) Jewish organizations established in 1850 Jews and Judaism in Buffalo, New York Modernist architecture in New York (state) Modernist synagogues Museums in Buffalo, New York National Register of Historic Places in Buffalo, New York Reform synagogues in New York (state) Synagogues completed in 1967 Synagogues on the National Register of Historic Places in New York (state) {{BuffaloNY-struct-stub