3663 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, California. County/parish: Los Angeles.
Added to the National Register of Historic Places December 21, 1981. NRIS 81000154.
1 contributing building.Also known as:
The Wilshire Boulevard Temple, known from 1862 to 1933 as Congregation B'nai B'rith, is a Reform Jewish congregation and synagogue at 3663 Wilshire Boulevard, in the Wilshire Center neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1862, it is the oldest Jewish congregation in Los Angeles.
The congregation's main building, with a sanctuary topped by a large Byzantine Revival dome and decorated with interior murals, was designated as a City of Los Angeles Historic Cultural Monument in 1973 and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1981. The Moorish-style building was completed in 1929 and was designed by architect Abram M. Edelman.
The Wilshire Boulevard Temple is one of the largest Jewish congregations in Los Angeles, and has been led by several influential rabbis. Edgar Magnin has been described as the "John Wayne" of rabbis, and served for 69 years, from 1915 to 1984.
In 1998 the congregation opened a second campus on the Westside, following relocations among its people. Despite repeated reports that the congregation might sell its older, landmark building in what had become known as the Koreatown neighborhood, the temple began extensive renovations of the historic facility in 2008; and the remodelled sanctuary reopened in 2013.
The Audrey Irmas Pavilion, a major 55,000-square-foot (5,100 m2) expansion adjacent to the synagogue, was completed between 2018 and 2021, designed by Shohei Shigematsu from the Office of Metropolitan Architecture, a leading global architectural firm.
(read more...)National Park Service documentation: https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123859045