CONGREGATION B'NAI B'RITH,1
formed July 13, 1862, was a tiny organization of thirty-two charter members
under the spiritual guidance of Rabbi Abraham W. Edelman.2 Their
first meeting place was the second floor hall in the Arcadia Block. During the
next few years they would also gather in Leck's Hall and the Temple Court House.3
By 1869 it became apparent that
the group was in need of a permanent home. In March of that year the ladies of
the congregation met and the Los Angeles Star carried an item about their
meeting:
A Synagogue The want of a
commodious house for public worship has long been felt by the members of . . .
the congregation of B'nai B'rith. On the 10th instant, the ladies of the
congregation assembled for the purpose of devising means to raise funds to
purchase a lot and erect a suitable church building. It was resolved to hold a
fair . . 4
The Star again announced their
activities the following June :
Grand Concert The programme
for the Grand Concert to be given Wednesday evening next, on behalf of the
Hebrew Congregation ... A host of talent has been engaged for the occasion,
a number of prominent ladies and gentlemen of the city having tendered their
services.5
But construction of a building
was not to begin until the summer of 1872, probably beginning sometime in July,
when plans were made to erect a synagogue on the east side of Fort Street (now
Broadway) between Second and Third. When the foundations had been laid the
congregation gathered for the cornerstone ceremonies, Sunday, August 18, 1872.6
Construction continued slowly for another twelve months.
Sometime during July or early
August, 1873, the building was completed, or at least the synagogue portion. The
basement room apparently was not finished at this time. The Los Angeles Express
announced on the evening of August 8 that . . .
the dedication of the Hebrew
Synagogue on Fort Street will be a ceremony of great interest. The ceremonies
will commence this evening at 5 o'clock under the auspices of Rabbi Edelman and
the members of the B'nai B'rith society.7
For the still tiny
congregation, estimated at about forty families, the dedication climaxed five
years of work and saving. The Express also enumerated exactly the order of the
service:
Enter the president, I. W.
Hellman, the vice president, Joseph Newmark, president and vice president of
the Hebrew Benevolent Society; enter the congregation ; the rabbi, bearing
the scrolls of the Law; organ playing a prelude. Presentation of key (to
synagogue) to President Hellman by Fanny Kalisher. Opening song by choir,
"How Goodly are Thy Tents, O Jacob," in Hebrew. Recitation of the first
three verses of Genesis in Hebrew and in English. Reading of the 122nd
Psalm, in Hebrew. Song by choir, "One Hundredth Psalm," in Hebrew. Prayer
for government and city authorities in English. Placing of the scrolls of
the Law in the Ark. Dedication sermon, Rabbi Edelman, in English. Prayer by Teanie Laventhal, in English, and presentation of flowers by children.
Recitation of dedication hymn in English by Rachel Kremer and Master
Fleishman. Closing song by choir, sung in Hebrew. Benediction, followed by
Sabbath services.8
The next day, the Los Angeles
Star noted that,
The dedication of the
Hebrew Synagogue took place yesterday afternoon, and was one of the
grandest spectacles that was ever witnessed in Southern California. . . .
The Congregation B'nai B'rith may well feel proud of their house of
worship. It is the most superior church edifice in Southern California,
and is a standing credit to those who liberally provided for its erection
....9
Of particular interest was the
appearance of the new building. At the time the cornerstone was laid, the Los
Angeles Star gave a detailed description, probably taken from an interview with
the architect, who may have showed them an elevation as well. It is reproduced
here in part:
[The Synagogue] will be of
Gothic formation and adornment. The front of this fine building will be
plastered and have two massive buttresses, surmounted by ornamental stone spires
handsomely carved. The finial in the center will be surmounted by a five-pointed
star set in a circle. The entrance ... will be in the front of the building, by
two flights of stairs, six feet wide, and landing on a platform six feet by
twelve, and the doors will be of massive black walnut wood beautifully carved.
The interior of the Synagogue will be seventy feet long and forty feet wide,
with a ceiling segment thirty feet in height. It will seat three hundred and
sixty-five persons and will contain two aisles four feet in width, which will
extend throughout the auditorium. A large platform twenty-one feet wide,
surrounded by a handsome balustrade will occupy the rear of the building. It
will contain the chancel, pulpit, and inner veil, choir, gallery, proscenium
and outer veil.... A splendid brick basement extends throughout the building,
the ceiling of which will be eleven feet in height.
It will be furnished with
wardrobes at the entrance, and when fitted up it will be the largest and coolest
school room in the city.10
The group had retained the
services of Architect Ezra F. Kysor, one of the earliest resident architects in
the city. He is believed to have arrived in Los Angeles during the late 1860's
and after 1869 had numbered among his executed commissions the Pico House,
Merced Theater 11 and at the time of the Synagogue's completion, had
begun work on the Cathedral of St. Vibiana for the Roman Catholic diocese.
Ground was also broken for the new high school building, to be located on Pound
Cake Hill, for the school board.12 Although the Synagogue was razed
before the turn of the century, the Pico House and Merced Theater, both in the
Plaza area, and the Cathedral, are still standing. Also associated with the
construction of the Synagogue was J. M. Riley, the builder and contractor, and a
"Mr. Myers" who handled the masonry.13
The 1873 Synagogue building
continued to be used until 1896 when plans for a larger building came to
completion. 14 The Fort Street (by this time known as Broadway)
property was sold to Andrew J. Copp on January 9, 1895, who razed the building
the following year for a business block, 15
Endnotes
1. Now known as the Wilshire
Boulevard Temple.
2. Los Angeles Star, August 19,
1872. See also Los Angeles Times, March 16, 1896. Mention is made in both
articles of this date; unfortunately, there is no comment in the contemporary
newspapers. Ana Begue de Packman noted that "The certificate of incorporation is
recorded in the County archives under the date of July 17, 1862, and is signed
by Joseph Newmark, president, and M. Wolf, secretary." See The Historical
Society of Southern California Quarterly, December, 1959, p. 292. The first
annual meeting of the congregation was held October 14, 1862, and the following
officers were elected: President, Mr. Joseph Newmark; Vice-President, W.
Calisher (sic) ; Secretary and Treasurer, M. Behrent (sic) ; Trustees, Messrs.
L. Levy, E. Laventhal, and J. Cohen. See Los Angeles Star, October 18, 1862, p.
2.
3. "Wilshire Boulevard Temple:
Congregation B'nai B'rith," by Marco R. Newmark in The Historical Society of
Southern California Quarterly, June, 1956, pp. 167-168. This writing seems to
have been taken from earlier research which Mr. Newmark prepared for the
dedication of the synagogue completed in 1929. See also SIXTY YEARS IN SOUTHERN
CALIFORNIA, by Harris Newmark, (New York, 1930, Third Edition), p. 122.
4. Los Angeles Star, March 27,
1869. The spelling of "B'erith" was subsequently simplified to "B'rith."
5. Las Angeles Star, June 5,
1869.
6. Los Angeles Star, August 19,
1872. At this time Joseph Newmark presented Isaias W. Hellman, president of the
Hebrew Benevolent Society of Los Angeles, with a silver trowel as a token of
the esteem of the society. Presumably, this inscribed trowel was used in the
cornerstone exercises.
7. Los Angeles Evening Express,
August 8, 1873.
8. Ibid. The "Master Fleishman"
mentioned was probably either Isidor or Fred. See also Los Angeles Star,
November 6, 1869, p. 2.
9. August 9, 1873, p. 3.
10. Los Angeles Star, August
19, 1872. Jewish art expert, Dr. William M. Kramer, notes that the six-pointed
Star of David did not come into wide use in Jewish architecture until the late
nineteenth century. However, the facade of the famous 1866 Sutter Street
Synagogue of Temple Emanu-El of San Francisco, had nine six-pointed Stars of
David.
11. Los Angeles Star, August
13, 1872.
12. Ibid. See also July 23,
1873.
13. Ibid., August 13, 1872.
Unfortunately, "Mr. Myers" was not identified with a first name and the 1873
volume of the Los Angeles City Directory lists no one named Myers with an
occupation related to masonry or bricks.
14. The Historical Society of
Southern California Quarterly, op. cit., pp. 170-171. This second building of
the congregation was erected on the northeast corner of Ninth and Hope Streets.
15. Ibid. See also Los Angeles
Herald, February 29, 1896, p. 6.
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