Temple Concord Named To Historic Register
Photos by Marc Safran
As the ninth oldest Jewish congregation in the United States, Temple Concord has achieved important new historic recognition.
The Temple, and its magnificent sanctuary, has been placed on the National Register of Historic Places by the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation- making it unique among synagogues in Central New York. The National Register nomination was prepared on behalf of Temple Concord by the International Survey of Jewish Monuments, which shares space at the Temple.
Dedicated on September 23, 1911 at its current site at 910 Madison St., the Temple Concord community welcomes the timing of this announcement as it prepares to note the centennial of the building with a series of events and celebrations in 2010 and 2011. The historic congregation, the ninth oldest existing Jewish congregation in the nation, was founded by Jewish immigrants from Central Europe in 1839. The 1911 building is the congregation’s third home. An earlier synagogue was located on a site near the present Everson Museum.
According to Temple Concord member and architectural historian Samuel D. Gruber, who provided the necessary research for the designation “Temple Concord is one of the outstanding religious buildings in Central New York. It’s also important as one of the few completed synagogues buildings designed by renowned architect Arnold W. Brunner that still retains its original form and function - only two others – Congregation Shearith Israel in New York and the small Frank Memorial Synagogue in Philadelphia also remain.” Gruber, who included Temple Concord in his 2003 book American Synagogues (Rizzoli, 2003), says that Brunner’s Classical design typifies the preference for the style among Reform Jewish Congregations after the turn of the 20th century, as they sought to contribute notable civic architecture as part of what is commonly called the “The City Beautiful Movement.”
Brunner, who was the first successful American-born Jewish architect, rose to become a leader in the field. In 1910-11, when Temple Concord was being built, Brunner was president of the New York Chapter of the American Institute of Architects, one of the most prestigious public positions for an architect at the time. Just a few months before the dedication of Temple Concord, Brunner witnessed the completion of the great Federal Building in Cleveland, one of his greatest works, and in June he also won the national competition to design State department Building in Washington (not built).
Brunner was consulting architect for the Temple Concord project, in partnership with local architect Alfred Taylor. The design is clearly his. The original construction drawings for the building by Taylor and Brunner were re-discovered last year in the files of King and Kin Architects –after being lost for 80 years.
In the recognition letter received from the New York State Department of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation it is stated that “The National Register is the nation’s official list of properties worthy of preservation. Listing on the National Register recognizes the importance of these properties to the history of our country and provides them with a measure of protection…Properties owned by not-for-profit organizations are eligible to apply for state historic preservation matching grants.”
