Beth Israel Synagogue (Norwalk, Connecticut)

Beth Israel Synagogue was an historic Orthodox synagogue building located at 31 Concord Street in the South Norwalk section of Norwalk, Connecticut. Built in 1906,[1] the Moorish Revival style building is the only known synagogue building in Connecticut displaying Moorish onion domes, and is an unusual example of an urban wood-frame synagogue.[2] Since 1972,[3] the building has been owned and occupied by the Canaan Institutional Baptist Church. (Beth Israel's original Orthodox congregation is now known as Beth Israel Chabad of Norwalk/Westport and worships in a new building in East Norwalk.[4]) The building was added to the National Register of Historical Places in 1991.[1]

For similarly named synagogues, see Beth Israel.
Beth Israel Synagogue
Front entrance, May 18, 2012
Beth Israel Synagogue (Norwalk, Connecticut) is located in Connecticut
Beth Israel Synagogue (Norwalk, Connecticut)
Beth Israel Synagogue (Norwalk, Connecticut) is located in the United States
Beth Israel Synagogue (Norwalk, Connecticut)
Location31 Concord St., Norwalk, Connecticut
Coordinates41°5′35″N 73°25′9″W
Built1906
Architectural styleLate 19th and 20th Century Revivals, Moorish Revival
NRHP reference No.91001684[1]
Added to NRHPNovember 29, 1991

Architecture and history

The former Beth Israel Synagogue building is located in South Norwalk, at the southwest corner of Concord Street and South Main Street. It is a two-story wood-frame structure, with a gabled roof and exterior finished in modern siding. Its main facade, facing Concord Street, is dominated by projecting square towers at each corner, each with an onion dome at its top. The left tower is larger and taller, with an octagonal section rising up above the main roof eave, while the right one is smaller and lacking in the octagonal section. Windows on the facade are in round-arch openings, with transom-like circular windows at the top of the opening, and either round-top or square-top sash windows below.[5]

The building was erected in 1906 for the Orthodox Beth Israel Congregation, which was organized in 1865 by German Jewish immigrants. The building is the only wood-frame synagogue known in the state. Its design was influenced by that of the 1872 Central Synagogue in New York City, which also has onion domes. While the onion domes are an unusual detail, the architecture is otherwise within usual standards for synagogues in Connecticut. The congregation remained here until construction of a new synagogue was finished in 1972. It has been owned by the Canaan Institutional Baptist Church since then.[5]

See also

References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Beth Israel Synagogue (Norwalk, Connecticut).
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. April 15, 2008.
  2. "Buildings Report". www.isjm.org. Retrieved 2018-02-16.
  3. "www.canaanibc.org - Offline". www.canaanibc.org. Retrieved 2018-02-16.
  4. "BethIsraelCT.org". www.bethisraelct.org. Retrieved 2018-02-16.
  5. David F. Ransom (1991-06-22). "National Register of Historic Places Registration: Beth Israel Synagogue / Canaan Institutional Baptist Church". National Park Service. and Accompanying 15 photos, exterior and interior, historic and from 1991
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