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 near the corner of Congress and St. Antoine. Subsequent Temple sites included rented rooms from 1852 to 1861 and four synagogues in Detroit from 1861 to 1973, two of which were designed by the renowned architect and Temple member Albert Kahn. The current building at Telegraph and 14 Mile Road in Bloomfield Hills, MI, designed by another noted architect, Minoru Yamasaki, is where the Temple now resides.

This collection contains photographs, documents, programs, brochures, news clippings, film reels, architectural drawings, and correspondence directly related to the buildings occupied by Congregation Beth El throughout its 150-year history. The bulk of the collection consists of material related to the Gladstone Temple, occupied from 1922-1973 and the current Temple in Bloomfield Hills.