Update: The synagogue has been renovated by a new owner. Don’t let anyone tell you that smaller cities in America are boring! After eating lunch at a great “farm to table” place downtown, I began wandering around the streets to the east of Bloomington’s center. I spotted this building, and was intrigued; what was it?…
Tag: Synagogues
Shaare Emeth, Temple of the Gates of Truth
After writing my recent St. Louis Magazine article about Centenary United Methodist Church, one of the oldest continually operating congregations in downtown St. Louis, and in the city in general, I became interested in the synagogue that backed right up to the church. It was dramatically named Temple of the Gates of Truth, and I…
Congregation Zephran David
Originally in the Near North Side on Dayton near Leffingwell, the Congregation Zephran David moved out to the West End in the 1920-30s. The construction date in the City’s records is clearly wrong at 1900, since the Sanborn maps show this as a house at this address. The 1900 date is probably for the earlier…
West End, Revisited
The West End used to be one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in the city. It’s changed dramatically with a mix of homeowners and public housing. There is amazing architecture everywhere. Take the former synagogue above, which reminds me of the Virginia Theater in Dutchtown. Or check out this mansion above, or the church below. I’m…
Romainische Shul Synagogue, Goodfellow at Romaine Place
Ahavas Achim Anshei Romania was one of many synagogues that popped up in western St. Louis, where there had long been a large Jewish population. But unlike other waves of Jewish emigration from Western Europe, now many arrived from the eastern portion of the continent. I would assume that Romanian Jews founded this location. Or…
Olivette Park, East St. Louis
In a city of old wood frame homes, the buildings of Olivette Park stand out in their brick construction. The vitality of the neighborhood can be seen in these handsome buildings, such as this old synagogue. Below, this apartment building looks like something that could easily fit in the Central West End. Below, these houses…
Old Synagogue, DeBaliviere Avenue
While the city is filled with large, prominent synagogues, there were countless other smaller houses of worship that dotted the city. They’re often forgotten, such as Mishkan Israel, which combined with Shirei Thillim, located down at 13th and Carr in the heart of the oldest Jewish neighborhood in St. Louis. The synagogue has apparently moved…
Folsom Avenue, McRee Town
The eclectic nature of the area’s architecture continues on the northern end of the residential area. There was a Jewish population in the neighborhood for a while, as this former synagogue attests. Folsom Avenue is dominated by the gigantic Liggett-Meyers Tobacco Factory, which is gigantic, to be blunt. It stretches the entire length of the…
Temple Israel
Update: See Temple Israel’s new Modernist location out west. I revisited Temple Israel in November of 2020 in this post about Holy Corners. The old Temple Israel synagogue is easily the most impressive Beaux-Arts building in St. Louis, even if it is certainly not the largest. Built on a grand scale according to the plans…
University Heights Gates, University City
Update: I went back in January of 2020 to photograph the area on the inside and outside of the gates. Also, the two statues are a lion and a tiger. I finally figured out why the lions, which also happen to be a male and female, face towards the Loop. These gates are the entrance…