| Object ID |
XXXX.006 |
| Object Name |
records |
| Abstract |
This collection contains photographs of the buildings occupied by Congregation Beth El throughout its 150-year history. It also contains documents, programs, brochures, news clippings, and correspondence directly related to the history of the buildings, including groundbreakings and dedications. The bulk of the collection is material on the Temple occupied from 1922-1973 at Woodward and Gladstone in Detroit, MI and the current Temple at Telegraph and 14 Mile Road in Bloomfield Hills, MI. The collection also consists of financial documents, correspondence relating to the architecture and construction of the current Temple, film reels, and oversized material. There are samples of photographs from the collection in the image database. |
| Admin/Biog History |
Temple Beth El, the first Jewish Congregation in the state of Michigan, was founded in 1850 in the home of Isaac and Sarah Cozens, located in Detroit at the corner of Congress and St. Antoine. From 1852 to 1861, the Congregation rented rooms above local businesses for use as places of worship. In 1861, a church was purchased on Rivard St. between Croghan (now Monroe) and Champlain (now Lafayette), which became Temple Beth El's synagogue. In 1867, the Congregation moved to a church on Washington Blvd. and Clifford St. They remained there until 1903, when they moved into a newly-built structure at Woodward and Eliot (now Wayne State University's Bonstelle Theater), designed by internationally renowned architect and Temple member Albert Kahn. Kahn also designed the Temple's next building, a grand structure at Woodward and Gladstone, which they occupied from 1922-1973. As Detroit's Jewish population migrated to the northwest suburbs, a new building, designed by another noted architect, Minoru Yamasaki, was
dedicated at Telegraph and 14 Mile Rd. in Bloomfield Hills, where the Temple now resides. |
| Creator |
unknown |
| Catalog date |
06/27/2001 |
| Collection |
Temple Beth El Buildings Collection |
| Container |
11 MS, 2 OS, 3 film reels |
| Dates of Accumulation |
c.1870-present |
| Level of description |
Fonds |
| People |
Cozens, Isaac/ Cozens, Sarah/ Kahn, Albert/ Canvasser, Robert/ Franklin, Leo M./ Yamasaki, Minoru/ Hertz, Richard C./ Katz, Irving/ Barlow, Myron/ |
| Home location |
Rabbi Leo M. Franklin Archives Stacks. |
| Physical characteristics |
Some photographs are in poor condition. All photographs must be handled with care. |
| Related unit of descrip |
A complete set of final architectural drawings of the current building, as well as partial sets of earlier drawings, and various other sketches and plans reflecting changes in the project's conception and design. Material from the 1960s and 1970s on the building fund campaign, search for a new building site, and additional Yamasaki correspondence, can be found in the Temple Administration Collection. There are also copies of architectural drawings of the Woodward and Gladstone building. Information on the Building Fund Campaign for the Woodward and Gladstone building, 1921-26 can be found in the "Operating Expenses 1923-29" ledger book, located in the Franklin Archives stacks.
There are various objects and visual images housed in the Franklin Archives apart from the Buildings Collection itself. There are numerous framed and unframed photos and drawings of various buildings, hanging on walls and housed in other collections. There is an oversized sign reading "Groundbreaking New Temple Beth El, April 15,
1971," and a spade with an identifying tag reading "Spade used at Temple Beth El Groundbreaking 1901, Woodward and Eliot St." |
| Search Terms |
building models/ Franklin Social Hall/ Building Fund Campaign/ stained glass windows/ Prentis Memorial Chapel/ architecture/ Historical Markers/ Cozens House/ Woodward and Eliot Temple/ Gladstone and Woodward Temple/ Rivard Street Temple/ Washington Blvd. Temple/ Brown Memorial Chapel/ |
| Title |
Temple Beth El Buildings Collection |
|
