Congregation Beth Elohim

1861 - present

Congregation Beth Elohim was founded in 1861 and originally housed in a temple on Pearl Street in Brooklyn Heights. It was created by forty-one German American congregants of Cobble Hill’s Congregation Baith Israel who broke from the congregation in hopes of engaging in more liberal and progressive practices of worship. Congregation Beth Elohim grew quickly and moved to a larger Brooklyn Heights location on State Street before moving to its current site in Park Slope at Garfield Place and 8th Avenue in 1909. This structure, known today as the “Eighth Avenue Temple” or “Garfield Temple,” was built in Classical Revival style by the architecture firm of Simon Eisendrath and B. Horowitz. In 1929, construction began on the Temple House, an additional building across the street built in the Art Deco style and meant to serve as a cultural center for congregants. Throughout its history, Congregation Beth Elohim has earned a reputation as a progressive community of believers dedicated to welcoming a diverse body of congregants and making the Jewish faith an essential part of their congregants’ everyday lives. Today, Beth Elohim also stands as an integral part of the Park Slope community serving as a place of worship, a site for after-school programs and cultural activities, and much more.

Photo of Temple House, taken by Samuel H. Gottscho.
Photo of the Beth Elohim Temple at 274 Garfield Place.
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Details

Category
Faith-based institution
Audience
All Ages
Tags
community, Judaism, expansion, German, religiouseducation, progressive, architecture

Location

  • 274 Garfield Pl, Brooklyn, NY 11215, USA
    ? - ?

Archival Collections

References

  1. Congregation Beth Elohim Website. “150 Years in Brooklyn: Our History.” Accessed April 25, 2022. https://cbebk.org/history/
  2. Clio Website. “Congregation Beth Elohim and Temple House.” Accessed April 25, 2022. https://www.theclio.com/entry/19391
  3. The Brooklyn Library Digital Collections. “Beth Elohim Synagogue, State St.” Accessed April 25, 2022. https://www.bklynlibrary.org/digitalcollections/item/8cef95c1-9aae-4fd6-9252-7efe5041b28a