Congregation Adath Israel Brith Sholom

{{short description|Reform synagogue in Louisville, Kentucky, US}} {{for|similarly named synagogues|Adath Israel (disambiguation){{!}}Adath Israel}} {{Use mdy dates|date=January 2024}} {{Infobox religious building | name = {{nowrap|Congregation Adath Israel Brith Sholom}}<br/>{{small|(The Temple)}} | native_name = | native_name_lang = | image = | image_upright = 1.6 | alt = | caption = | religious_affiliation = [[Reform Judaism]] | tradition = | sect = | district = | prefecture = | province = | region = | deity = | rite = | festival =  | organisational_status = [[Synagogue]] | ownership = | governing_body = | leadership = | bhattaraka = | patron = | consecration_year = | functional_status = Active | religious_features_label = | religious_features = | location = 5101 [[U.S. Route 42|US Hwy 42]], [[Louisville, Kentucky]] 40241 | locale = | municipality = | cercle = | state = | country = United States | map_type = Kentucky | map_size = 270 | map_alt = | map_relief = 1 | map_caption = Location of the current synagogue in [[Kentucky]] | grid_name = | grid_position = | sector = | territory = | administration = | coordinates = {{coord|38.291|-85.631|region:US-KY_type:landmark|format=dms|display=it}} | coordinates_footnotes = | heritage_designation = | architect = 1868, Adath Israel: {{bulleted list|H. P. Bradshaw}} 1905, Adath Israel: {{bulleted list|{{nowrap|[[McDonald Brothers (architects)|McDonald Brothers]]}}|J.F. Sheblessy}} 1949, Brith Sholom: {{bulleted list|Walter C. Wagner|Joseph Potts}} 1980, Merged: {{bulleted list|[[William Strudwick Arrasmith|Arrasmith & Rapp]]|[[Joseph & Joseph]]}} | architecture_type = Synagogue | architecture_style = {{ubl|[[Orientalism#In European architecture and design|Orientalist]] {{small|(1868)}}|[[Gothic Revival architecture|Gothic Revival]] {{small|(1881)}}|[[Greek Revival architecture|Greek Revival]] {{small|(1905)}}|[[Georgian Revival architecture|Georgian Revival]] {{small|(1949)}}|[[Modernist architecture|Modernist]] {{small|(1980)}}}} | founded_by = | creator = | funded_by = | general_contractor = | established = 1976 {{small|(merged congregation)}} {{bulleted list|1842 {{small|(as Adath Israel)}}|1880 {{small|(as Brith Sholom)}}}} | groundbreaking = | year_completed = Adath Israel: {{bulleted list|1849 {{small|(Fourth Street)}}|1868 {{small|(Broadway)}}|1905 {{small|(S. Third Street)}}}} Brith Sholom: {{bulleted list|1881 {{small|(First Street)}}|1903 {{small|(Second Street)}}|1949 {{small|(Cowling Avenue)}}}} Merged: {{bulleted list|1980 {{small|(Brownsboro)}}}} | construction_cost = | date_demolished =  | facade_direction = | capacity = | length = | width = | width_nave = | interior_area = | height_max = | dome_quantity = | dome_height_outer = | dome_height_inner = | dome_dia_outer = | dome_dia_inner = | minaret_quantity = | minaret_height = | spire_quantity = | spire_height = | site_area = | temple_quantity = | monument_quantity = | shrine_quantity = | inscriptions = | materials = | elevation_m =  | elevation_footnotes = | nrhp = | designated = | added = | refnum = | delisted1_date = | website = {{URL|thetemplelouky.org}} | module = {{Infobox NRHP | embed = yes | name = Adath Israel Temple | nrhp_type = | image = Adath Israel Temple in Louisville.jpg | image_size = 270 | caption = [[Façade]] and southern side of the 1905 synagogue | location = 834 South Third Street, Louisville | coordinates = {{coord|38|14|35|N|85|45|27|W|region:US-KY_type:landmark|display=inline}} | locmapin = | map_width = 270 | added = December 31, 1974 | area = {{convert|1|acre}} | refnum = 74000882 }} {{Infobox NRHP | embed = yes | name = Adath Israel Cemetery | nrhp_type = | image = Adath Israel Cemetery, Louisville, KY.jpg | image_size = 270 | caption = Entrance to the heritage-listed [[cemetery]] in 2021 | location = 2716 Preston Street, Louisville | coordinates = {{coord|38.21052|-85.74157438|region:US-KY_type:landmark|format=dms|display=inline}} | locmapin = | map_width = 270 | added = June 22, 1982 | area = {{convert|23|acre}} | refnum = 82002702 }} | footnotes = <ref>{{Cite web |url=https://thetemplelouky.org/contact/ |title=Contact |work=The Temple - Congregation Adath Israel Brith Sholom |access-date=August 19, 2019 |year=2019}}{{self-published inline|date=January 2024}}</ref><ref name="nris">{{NRISref|2009a}}</ref><ref name=NRHPcemetery/> }}

'''Congregation Adath Israel Brith Sholom''' is a [[Reform Judaism|Reform]] [[Jewish]] congregation and [[synagogue]] located at 5101 [[U.S. Route 42|US Hwy 42]], in [[Louisville, Kentucky]], in the United States.

Originally the '''Adath Israel Temple''', it adopted its current name following a merger, however is more commonly known as '''The Temple'''. Prior to merging, the congregations resided in several buildings. Adath Israel Temple's third synagogue building was listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]] in 1974; and the associated [[cemetery]] was listed in 1982. ==History== The Adath Israel Congregation ("Congregation of Israel"), the [[List of the oldest synagogues in the United States|oldest]] in Kentucky, was chartered in 1842 in the [[Orthodox Judaism|Orthodox]] tradition<ref name="Weisbach2"/>{{rp|150}} and has occupied six buildings.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070820063121/http://www.nmajh.org/exhibitions/postcards/cards/14.htm |title=Temple Adath Israel: Louisville, KY |work=Jewish Postcards |publisher=[[National Museum of American Jewish History]] |archive-url=http://www.nmajh.org/exhibitions/postcards/cards/14.htm |archive-date=August 20, 2007 |date= |access-date=March 8, 2010 }}</ref> It is a founding member of the [[Union for Reform Judaism]].<ref name="thetemple">{{Cite web |url=http://templeaibs.org/about_us |title=About Us |work=The Temple - Congregation Adath Israel Brith Sholom |date= |access-date=2009-12-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090603001825/http://templeaibs.org/about_us |archive-date=2009-06-03 |url-status=dead }}{{self-published inline|date=January 2024}}</ref>

Brith Sholom ("Covenant of Peace"), Louisville's third oldest synagogue, was organized in 1880.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/louisville |title=Louisville |website=www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org |date= |access-date=2019-08-18}}</ref> It was established in the [[Conservative Judaism|Conservative]] tradition<ref name="Weisbach2"/>{{rp|150}} for those wishing to pray in [[German language|German]], rather than the English used in Adath Israel. It joined the Reform movement in 1920.<ref name="thetemple"/>

In 1976, Adath Israel merged with Brith Sholom.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pXbYITw4ZesC&dq=Adath+Israel+temple&pg=PA875 |title=The Encyclopedia of Louisville |last=Kleber |first=John E. |date=2001 |publisher=University Press of Kentucky |isbn=9780813128900 |pages=448, 875 |language=en}}</ref> This was motivated by the desire of both groups to improve their physical facilities and to relocate to the eastern part of [[Jefferson County, Kentucky|Jefferson County]]. For a few years after it was organized as Adath Israel Brith Sholom, it held services in the Brith Sholom building. In 1980, the congregation moved into its new [[Modernist architecture|Modernist]] sanctuary on [[U.S. Route 42|Brownsboro Road]].<ref name=Weisbach/>{{rp|29}}

===Adath Israel Temple sites===

The congregation's first synagogue was built in 1849 on Fourth Street, which a fire destroyed in 1866.<ref name=":0" />

In 1868, the congregation built a new temple at Broadway and Sixth Street.<ref name=":0" /> The elaborate [[dome]]d synagogue was created in an [[Orientalism#In European architecture and design|Orientalist style]] that featured twin towers topped by tall domes and a [[Torah ark|Torah Ark]] with a [[horseshoe arch]] topped by a similar dome. The architect was H. P. Bradshaw.<ref name=Weisbach>{{cite book |author=Weisbach, Lee Shai |title=Synagogues of Kentucky: History and Architecture |publisher=[[University Press of Kentucky]] |year=1995 |isbn= }}</ref>{{rp|62}} [[Adolph S. Moses]] served as rabbi from 1881 to his death in 1902.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Adler |first1=Cyrus |author-link=Cyrus Adler |last2=Dobsevage |first2=I. George |title=MOSES, ADOLPH |url=https://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/11060-moses-adolph |access-date=2023-10-31 |website=[[The Jewish Encyclopedia]]}}</ref> The building was subsequently repurposed as a Methodist church.<ref name=Weisbach/>{{rp|155}}

The congregation's third building was informally known as the "Third Street Synagogue". The [[Greek Revival architecture|Greek Revival]] structure<ref name=":0" /> was designed by architects [[McDonald Brothers (architects)|Kenneth McDonald]] and J.F. Sheblessy<ref name=Luhan/>{{rp|191}} and dedicated on June 3, 1906. The building was listed in the [[National Register of Historic Places]] in 1974 as a result of the strength and prestige of the architects. In 1977, it was sold to the Greater Bethel Temple,<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mhNNAAAAYAAJ&q=temple|title=The Victorian to the Beaux-arts: A Study of Four Louisville Architectural Firms, McDonald Brothers, McDonald & Sheblessy, Dodd & Cobb and McDonald & Dodd |last=Hedgepeth |first=Marty Lyn Poynter |date=1981 |publisher=University of Louisville |pages=40, 41, 93 |language=en}}</ref> an Apostolic Church.<ref name=Luhan>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fai4OHydKKIC&q=Adath+Israel+temple |title=The Louisville Guide |last1=Luhan |first1=Gregory |last2=Domer |first2=Dennis |last3=Mohoney |first3=David |date=2004-09-09 |publisher=Princeton Architectural Press |isbn=9781568984513 |language=en-US |via=[[Google Books]] }}</ref>{{rp|191}}<ref name=Weisbach/>{{rp|155}}

=== Brith Sholom Temple sites === Brith Sholom first building was at First and Walnut Streets,<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mosfBgAAQBAJ&dq=Brith+Sholom&pg=PA138 |title=The Synagogues of Kentucky: Architecture and History |last=Weissbach |first=Lee Shai |date=2015-01-13 |publisher=University Press of Kentucky |isbn=9780813148021|pages=41, 42, 94, 95 |language=en}}</ref> occupied from 1881 and completed in the [[Gothic Revival architecture|Gothic Revival]] style,<ref name=Weisbach/>{{rp|155, 92}} which it sold to [[Anshei Sfard (Louisville, Kentucky)|Congregation Anshei Sfard]] in 1903. The First Street synagogue was destroyed in 1962 to make way for an expressway.<ref name=Weisbach/>{{rp|155}}

Its second building was at Second and College Streets, completed in 1903, vacated in 1949, and subsequently used as a church. This building was demolished {{circa|1965}}.<ref name=Weisbach/>{{rp|155}}

The congregation's third building was in the Bonnycastle Mansion at Cowling and Maryland Avenues in 1949,<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2" /> completed in the [[Georgian Revival architecture|Georgian Revival]] style by architects, Walter C. Wagner and Joseph Potts. It is the only synagogue built in Kentucky between 1950 and 2000, not designed in the [[Modernist architecture|Modernist]] style. Following the 1976 merger, the merged congregation met at the Cowling Avenue site. The building was subsequently sold and used as a Pentecostal church.<ref name=Weisbach/>{{rp|94–95, 112, 154, 157, 159}}

=== Merged site === In 1980, the congregation moved to [[U.S. Route 42|Brownsboro]]<ref name=Weisbach/>{{rp|29}} and Lime Kiln Roads<ref name=Luhan/>{{rp|332}} with land purchased in 1966.<ref name=":0" /> The temple was designed by a joint venture between architectural firms, [[William Strudwick Arrasmith|Arrasmith & Rapp]] and [[Joseph & Joseph]],<ref name=Luhan/>{{rp|332}} as Arnold Judd and Alfred Joseph Jr., senior partners of each firm, were members of the merged congregation.<ref name="Weisbach2">{{cite journal |author=Weissbach, Lee Shai |title=The Synagogues of Kentucky: Architecture and History |year=1995 |journal=Architecture |volume=1 |url=https://uknowledge.uky.edu/upk_architecture/1 |publisher=[[University Press of Kentucky]] |access-date=January 7, 2024 }}</ref>{{rp|113}}

== Cemetery == The Temple Cemetery was formed from the former Adath Israel Cemetery and Brith Sholom Cemetery and comprises {{convert|23|acre|ha}} located at 2716 Preston Street, in Louisville. In 1981, the congregation nominated the cemetery for listing on the National Register of Historic Places, that was approved on June 22, 1982.<ref name=NRHPcemetery>{{cite web |url=https://www.thetemplelouky.org/cemetery/ |title=Inventory Nomination Form: Adath Israel Cemetery |work=National Register of Historic Places |publisher=[[National Park Service]] |year=1982 }}</ref>

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== * {{official website|https://thetemplelouky.org}} * {{cite web |url=https://www.thetemplelouky.org/cemetery/ |title=The Temple Cemetery |work=Congregation Adath Israel Brith Sholom }}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adath Israel Brith Sholom}} [[Category:1842 establishments in Kentucky]] [[Category:1880 establishments in Kentucky]] [[Category:1976 establishments in Kentucky]] [[Category:20th-century synagogues in the United States]] [[Category:Cemeteries established in the 1850s]] [[Category:Cemeteries on the National Register of Historic Places in Kentucky]] [[Category:Founding members of the Union for Reform Judaism]] [[Category:Georgian Revival architecture in Kentucky]] [[Category:Georgian Revival synagogues]] [[Category:German-American culture in Louisville, Kentucky]] [[Category:German-Jewish culture in the United States]] [[Category:Gothic Revival architecture in Kentucky]] [[Category:Gothic Revival synagogues]] [[Category:Greek Revival synagogues]] [[Category:Greek Revival architecture in Kentucky]] [[Category:Jewish organizations established in 1842]] [[Category:Jewish organizations established in 1880]] [[Category:Jewish organizations established in 1976]] [[Category:Modernist architecture in Kentucky]] [[Category:Modernist synagogues]] [[Category:Moorish Revival architecture in Kentucky]] [[Category:Moorish Revival synagogues]] [[Category:National Register of Historic Places in Louisville, Kentucky]] [[Category:Reform synagogues in Kentucky]] [[Category:Synagogues completed in 1849]] [[Category:Synagogues completed in 1868]] [[Category:Synagogues completed in the 1880s]] [[Category:Synagogues completed in 1903]] [[Category:Synagogues completed in 1905]] [[Category:Synagogues completed in 1980]] [[Category:Synagogues in Louisville, Kentucky]] [[Category:Synagogues on the National Register of Historic Places in Kentucky]] [[Category:Cemeteries in Louisville, Kentucky]]