I assigned myself the project of photographing the interesting buildings of Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles. The photo collection includes office buildings, theaters, and places of worship. Thus far I have a collection of photos in what is generally called the mid-Wilshire area that primarily is also called Koreatown. I have photos of the property once known as the Ambassador Hotel, that should have been preserved, the Wiltern Theater and the Bullock’s building (a famous upscale department store now long gone). It has taken three trips to the area and as I am quite old the walking has been difficult.
Included in that area is the Wilshire Boulevard Temple (Jewish Reform). The doors were locked and tours are by appointment only according to the temple’s website. It is an enormous structure topped by a large a Byzantine revival dome. Today’s Jewish community primarily lives in West Los Angeles and the San Fernando Valley although most areas of the city do have synagogues.
Wilshire Boulevard Temple serves as the third home of the Congregation B’nai B’rith, which was founded in 1862 and is the oldest Jewish congregation in Los Angeles. The congregation left each of its first two synagogues, both located downtown and both now demolished, as its size grew and as the city moved westward. The congregation purchased property at the corner of Wilshire and Hobart Boulevards in 1921.
At the time, the Mid-Wilshire area was an upper-class suburban enclave with great commercial promise, sometimes called the “Fifth Avenue of the West.” Religious organizations of all denominations followed their members here as they moved west from downtown, and most of the churches were grand and impressive. That accounts for the fact that other religious organizations also build beautiful churches in that immediate area.
Because the immediate surrounding community is now primarily Korean and Hispanic the synagogue has decided to retain the facility but provide services for the non-Jewish. The community outreach has been recognized by local leaders, who hope it will become a model for other organizations as well.
The photo of the exterior is mine. The interior photo posted by the temple.
Coast Contact 