Temple Beth-El (Corsicana, Texas)
Encyclopedia
Temple Beth-El is an historic Moorish Revival
synagogue
located at 208 South 15th Street in Corsicana
, Texas
. It became a Recorded Texas Historical Landmark in 1981.
On February 3, 1987, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places
.
The Jewish community of Corsicana, established in 1871, dwindled in the late twentieth century, spurring the Navarro County Historical Society to take responsibility for the synagogue which, because of its unusual architecture, has been restored and is now in use as a community center.
Moorish Revival
Moorish Revival or Neo-Moorish is one of the exotic revival architectural styles that were adopted by architects of Europe and the Americas in the wake of the Romanticist fascination with all things oriental...
synagogue
Synagogue
A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...
located at 208 South 15th Street in Corsicana
Corsicana, Texas
Corsicana is a city in Navarro County, Texas, United States. It is located on Interstate 45 some fifty-five miles south of downtown Dallas. The population was 24,485 at the 2000 census...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. It became a Recorded Texas Historical Landmark in 1981.
On February 3, 1987, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
.
History
The synagogue was built by a Reform Jewish congregation in 1898-1900. It is a wood frame building, with clapboard siding, keyhole windows in the front doors, and a pair of octagonal towers topped by onion domes.The Jewish community of Corsicana, established in 1871, dwindled in the late twentieth century, spurring the Navarro County Historical Society to take responsibility for the synagogue which, because of its unusual architecture, has been restored and is now in use as a community center.
External links
- Temple Beth-El history
- http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~txnavarr/markers/temple_beth-el/index.htm
- http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http://www.geocities.com/txsynvr/Corsicana/CorsR.html&date=2009-10-25+23:24:37