National Register of Historic Places

Temple Beth Israel

Portland, Multnomah County, Oregon
Listed
July 25, 1979
Type
Building
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
79002141

About this property

Congregation Beth Israel is a Reform Jewish congregation and synagogue, located at 1931 NW Flanders Street, Portland, Oregon, in the United States. The congregation was founded in 1858, while Oregon was still a territory. The congregation's first building, constructed in 1859, was a modest, single story, pitched-roof, wood-framed, clapboard building with Gothic pointed-arch windows and door. A new synagogue building replaced this early structure in 1889; a fire destroyed that synagogue in December 1923. Designed by Portland architect Warren H. Williams, the building, described as Moorish Revival design in some sources, is elsewhere described as a combination of eclectic and Gothic Revival styles, with two towers topped by bulbous domes. The Oregonian newspaper described its style as "semi-Gothic and Mooresque" in 1923. Located at S.W. 12th and Main Streets in downtown Portland, its two towers stood 165 ft (50 m) tall; the main interior space measured 82 by 56 feet (25 m × 17 m), and featured an arched ceiling 52 feet (16 m) high. It was replaced in 1928 by the landmark Neo-Byzantine synagogue building at N.W. 19th and Flanders that continues to serve the congregation. Listed as Temple Beth Israel on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979, the building is considered one of the finest examples of Neo-Byzantine-style architecture on the west coast, and was inspired by the Alte Synagoge (Steelerstrasse Synagogue) in Essen, Germany. The interior of Steelerstrasse, the first modern synagogue in Germany, was praised as Germany's most beautiful before its destruction during the November Pogrom of 1938.

Location

1931 NW Flanders St.
Portland, Multnomah County, Oregon
45.52607, -122.69081

Categories

ARCHITECTURERELIGIONSOCIAL HISTORY
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Questions about this property

When was Temple Beth Israel listed on the National Register?

Temple Beth Israel was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on July 25, 1979.

What type of historic resource is Temple Beth Israel?

Temple Beth Israel is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Temple Beth Israel?

The period of significance for Temple Beth Israel is recorded as the industrial era.

Can I research the history near Temple Beth Israel?

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