The Synagogues of Kentucky: Architecture and History

University of Kentucky UKnowledge Architecture University Press of Kentucky 1995 The Synagogues of Kentucky: Architecture and History Lee Shai Weissbach Click here to let us know how access to this document benefits ou.y Thanks to the University of Kentucky Libraries and the University Press of Kentucky, this book is freely available to current faculty, students, and staff at the University of Kentucky. Find other University of Kentucky Books at uknowledge.uky.edu/upk. For more information, please contact UKnowledge at [email protected]. Recommended Citation Weissbach, Lee Shai, "The Synagogues of Kentucky: Architecture and History" (1995). Architecture. 1. https://uknowledge.uky.edu/upk_architecture/1 Perspectives on Kentucky's Past ARCHITECTURE, ARCHAEOLOGY, AND LANDSCAPE Julie Riesenweber General Editor This page intentionally left blank The Synagogues of Kentucky Architecture and History Lee Shai Weissbach THE UNIVERSITY PRESS OF KENTUCKY Copyright © 1995 by The University Press of Kentucky Scholarly publisher for the Commonwealth, serving Bellarmine University, Berea College, Centre College of Kentucky, Eastern Kentucky University, The Filson Historical Society, Georgetown College, Kentucky Historical Society, Kentucky State University, Morehead State University, Murray State University, Northern Kentucky University, Transylvania University, University of Kentucky, University of Louisville, and Western Kentucky University. All rights reserved. Editorial and Sales Offices:The University Press of Kentucky 663 South Limestone Street, Lexington, Kentucky 40508-4008 www.kentuckypress.com Cataloging-in-Publication data is available from the Library of Congress ISBN: 978-0-8131-3368-3 (pbk. : alk. paper) This book is printed on acid-free recycled paper meeting the requirements of the American National Standard for Permanence in Paper for Printed Library Materials. Manufactured in the United States of America. Member of the Association of American University Presses Weissbach POD pbk copyright page.indd 1 12/1/2010 8:53:47 AM For Gobi and Maya This page intentionally left blank Contents List of Maps VIn Sponsor's Preface IX Acknowledgments XI Introduction 1 1 The Formation of Kentucky's Jewish Congregations 11 2 Kentucky Synagogue Buildings 35 3 The First Century of Synagogue Design 53 4 Synagogue Design since World War II 93 Discovering Kentucky's Synagogues: An Essay on Bibliography and Methodology 121 Tables 1 The Jewish Population of Kentucky and Selected Kentucky Cities in Selected Years 149 2 The Jewish Congregations of Kentucky, by Date of Establishment 150 3 The Jewish Congregations of Kentucky, by City 152 4 Kentucky Synagogue Sites, by Date of Occupancy 153 5 The Life Course of Kentucky's Synagogue Buildings 155 6 Kentucky Congregations in Alphabetical Order and Their Synagogue Sites 158 7 Buildings Constructed as Synagogues in Kentucky and Their Architects 160 Appendices A A Newspaper Account of the Destruction of Kentucky's First Synagogue 165 B A Newspaper Account of the Dedication of the Synagogue in Owensboro 167 Notes 169 Index 177 viii \ The Synagogues of Kentucky Maps 1 Synagogue buildings in Kentucky in 1892 6 2 Synagogue buildings in Kentucky in 1942 6 3 Synagogue buildings in Kentucky in 1992 6 4 Downtown Louisville in the early 1990s, showing location of synagogue buildings in 1892 47 5 Downtown Louisville in the early 1990s, showing location of synagogue buildings in 1912 48 6 Downtown Louisville in the early 1990s, showing location of synagogue buildings in 1930 49 7 Greater Louisville in the early 1990s, showing location of synagogue buildings in 1965 50 8 Greater Louisville in the early 1990s, showing location of synagogue buildings in 1992 51 Sponsor's Foreword KENTUCKY'S THOUSANDS OF CULTURAL resources form a tangible record of twelve thousand years of history and prehistory. They include archaeological sites such as native American villages and burial mounds, the historic remains of fortifications of Qur first Euro pean settlers, and Civil War earthworks and battlefields. Above ground are structures ranging from individual houses to entire streetscapes of Victorian commercial buildings. These resources combine to form a past and present environment-a cultural landscape-worthy of preserva tion. Preservationists have always made decisions about which cultural resources should remain for future generations, but these decisions are becoming even more difficult. No longer is preservation a simple matter of saving old buildings from the wrecking ball or restoring them to their original appearance. Preservationists today must not only consider a more comprehensive and diverse array of properties, but also attempt to unravel the complex relationships among them. One way the profession responds to challenges posed by the rapidly changing times is to seek better understanding of the cultural resources with which it is con cerned. The Kentucky Heritage Council, the State Historic Preservation Office, encourages the study of the Commonwealth's architecture, ar chaeology, and landscape. As a growing number of constituents demand that decisions be weighed in light of many special interests, preserva tion increasingly becomes a public endeavor. The preservation profes sion must find ways of communicating the information gained through scholarly research so that the public is aware of the relationships and meanings behind practical decisions. Publication of the series Perspec- x \ The Synagogues of Kentucky tives on Kentucky's Past is among the Kentucky Heritage Council's ongoing educational efforts. Cultural diversity has become a major theme in many endeavors, including historic preservation. Where historical scholarship used to focus on rich and powerful white men, it now seeks information about working people, women and ethnic minorities in the past. Likewise, while early preservation efforts involved the restoration of masterworks of architecture and the stylish homes of prominent citizens, they now concern buildings, neighborhoods, communities and landscapes that were commonplace in the past and illustrate the diversity of American culture. , For this reason I am especially pleased that the second volume in the Perspectives on Kentucky's Past series presents information about an ethnic group not typically thought of in connection with Kentucky. The Synagogues of Kentucky is the first comprehensive survey of Ken tucky's Jewish communities and synagogues. In this pioneering study of small Jewish communities outside the major American urban centers, Lee Shai Weissbach has employed demographic, architectural, and ar chival data and combined the disciplines of religious, social, and archi tectural history. He shows that synagogues, as the centers of Jewish religious and community life, have both influenced and reflected the evolution and identity of Jewish communal life in Kentucky, and he· thus gives us persuasive reasons for their preservation. David L. Morgan, Director Kentucky Heritage Council and State Historic Preservation Officer Acknowledgments IN PREPARING THIS VOLUME I have relied on the help of many individuals. Some made practical suggestions; others shared informa tion and advice in correspondence or in conversation; still others as sisted with the technical aspects of my project. I thank them all and offer my genuine apologies to anyone whose help I received but whom I have inadvertently failed to recognize here. It goes without saying, of course, that any faults to be found in this book are my responsibility alone. My research could not have been accomplished without access to a great many primary sources, and at each and every one of the libraries and archives that I used (they are enumerated in my essay on method ology and bibliography), I found staff members who were extremely gracious and cooperative. Special mention in this regard is due to Kevin Proffitt of the American Jewish Archives in Cincinnati. Although I do not know by name all the other librarians and archivists who facilitated my research, I want to express my gratitude to them as a group. Within each of the individual Kentucky communities I studied, I encountered many individuals who were willing and even eager to help me. For sharing their knowledge of the Louisville Jewish community and of their own congregations, I thank Herman Landau, the author of Adath Louisville; Milton Russman of the Israel T. Naamani Library located at Louisville's Jewish Community Center; Mary Wolf, one of the founders of the new Adat B'nai Yisrael congregation; Rabbi Chester Diamond of The Temple, and Jack Benjamin, The Temple's administra tor. I also thank Richard Wolf, co-chair of the original building commit tee for The Temple; Rabbis Avrohom Litvin and Solomon Roodman of Congregation Anshei Sfard; Rabbi Shmuel Mann of Congregation Kene seth Israel; Rabbi Robert Slosberg of Adath Jeshurun; and Ernie Marks, xii \ The Synagogues of Kentucky that congregation's ritual director. I am indebted as well to the late Rabbi Simcha Kling of Adath Jeshurun, a native of the Newport Jewish community who became a highly revered communal leader and spiri tual presence in Louisville; I regret that he did not live to see this volume completed. Also deserving of my thanks are Louisville architects Gerald Baron, John P. Chovan, and Robert A. Nolan, Sr., each of whom spent time talking to me about his work on Kentucky's synagogues. I am grateful too for the aid and encouragement I received from Samuel W. Thomas, author of several books on Louisville's

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