Temple Israel (Paducah, Kentucky)
| Temple Israel | |
|---|---|
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Reform Judaism |
| Ecclesiastical or organisational status | Synagogue |
| Leadership | Lay-led |
| Status | Active |
| Location | |
| Location | 330 Joe Clifton Drive, Paducah, Kentucky |
| Country | United States |
  Location in Kentucky | |
| Geographic coordinates | 37°4′33″N 88°37′56″W / 37.07583°N 88.63222°W |
| Architecture | |
| Architect(s) |
|
| Type | Synagogue |
| Style | Moorish Revival (1893) |
| Date established | 1871 (as a congregation) |
| Completed |
|
| Demolished | 1963 (Broadway) |
| Specifications | |
| Dome(s) | One (Joe Clifton Dr.) |
| Minaret(s) | Two (Broadway) |
| Website | |
| templeisraelky | |
Temple Israel is a Reform Jewish congregation and synagogue located at 330 Joe Clifton Drive, in Paducah, Kentucky, in the United States.
Membership is a mix of families that have lived in Paducah for several generations, as well as those arriving in the area more recently. As of 2017[update], the synagogue was home to a small congregation of 32 families. Owing to the relatively small size of the congregation, Temple Israel does not have a permanent rabbi, yet has been supported by student rabbis from Hebrew Union College since 1988.[1] Members of the congregation are affiliated with Reform, Conservative, and Orthodox practises and beliefs.[2]
History[edit]
The community was founded in 1864 as the Paducha Chevra Yeshrun Burial Society, and the congregation was chartered in 1871 as Kehillah Kodesh Bene Yeshurun ("Holy Community of the People of Righteousness")[1] when it established its first synagogue, on South Fifth Street.[a] In 1873 it became a charter member of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations.
Paducah's elaborate, Moorish Revival-style synagogue, designed by Brinton B. Davis, was built in 1893 on the corner of Broadway and 7th Street. Davis later designed the original buildings of Western Kentucky University.[5]: 70 The synagogue building featured a central tower and a pair of minarets, all three topped with large onion domes (these domes were removed in the early 1930s). There was an oriel window on the front of the tower, and three tiers of horseshoe windows. The front entrance featured a tripartite, columned, horseshoe-arched doorway topped by a tripartite tier of horseshoe windows. In 1893, the congregation changed its name from Bene Yeshurum to Temple Israel.[4]: 150 The Broadway synagogue building was demolished in 1963.[5]: 69
The current synagogue building, dedicated in May 1963, is at the corner of Madison and Joe Clifton Drive,[6] designed by Cincinnati-based architects, Pepinsky, Grau, Shroud, and Shorr.[4]: 113
According to the stone at its entrance, the Temple Israel Cemetery was established in 1859. It is located on Lone Oak Road, adjacent to Mt. Kenton Cemetery.[7][8]
In 2004, the synagogue building was attacked by antisemitic activists.[9]
Notes[edit]
- ^ Historical Marker states South Fifth Street,[3] yet Encyclopedia of Southern Jewish Life states Chestnut Street.[1] Weisbach clarifies that Chestnut became South Fifth Street (no date given re the change of name).[4]: 158
References[edit]
- ^ a b c "Paducah, Kentucky". Encyclopedia of Southern Jewish Communities. Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life. 2023. Retrieved January 7, 2024.
- ^ "About Us". Temple Israel. 2009.[self-published source?]
- ^ Marsteller, Duane and Tracy (October 28, 2020). Jones, Devry Becker (ed.). "Temple Israel". Historical Marker Database. Retrieved January 7, 2024.
- ^ a b c Weissbach, Lee Shai (1995). "The Synagogues of Kentucky: Architecture and History". Architecture. University Press of Kentucky. Retrieved January 7, 2024.
- ^ a b Weisbach, Lee Shai (1995). Synagogues of Kentucky: History and Architecture. University Press of Kentucky.
- ^ "History". Temple Israel.[self-published source?]
- ^ "Home page". Mt. Kenton Cemetery.
- ^ "Kentucky". Cemetery Project. International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies. Archived from the original on September 6, 2008. Retrieved March 31, 2009.
- ^ "Vandals Strike Paducah Temple". The Courier Journal. Louisville, KY. Associated Press. February 21, 2004.
Further reading[edit]
- Weissbach, Lee Shai (1990). "Stability and Mobility in the Small Jewish Community: Examples from Kentucky History". American Jewish History. 79 (3): 355–75. JSTOR 23884512 – via JSTOR.
External links[edit]
- 1871 establishments in Kentucky
- 20th-century synagogues in the United States
- 21st-century attacks on synagogues and Jewish communal organizations in the United States
- Buildings and structures in Paducah, Kentucky
- Founding members of the Union for Reform Judaism
- Jewish organizations established in 1871
- Moorish Revival architecture in Kentucky
- Moorish Revival synagogues
- Reform synagogues in Kentucky
- Synagogue buildings with domes
- Synagogues completed in 1871
- Synagogues completed in 1893
- Synagogues completed in 1963