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June 7, 2002/Sivan 27 5762, Vol. 54, No. 38
Temple site purchased
Historical society starts capital campaign
LEISAH NAMM
Assistant Editor
The Arizona Jewish Historical Society closed escrow June 5 on the site that housed Phoenix's first synagogue.
AJHS paid $540,000 for the property, located at 122 E. Culver St., said Risa Mallin, AJHS executive director.
Plans are to turn the buildings and grounds into the Jewish Heritage Center housing the AJHS, the Culver Street Synagogue, the Greater Phoenix Jewish Genealogical Society and archives of the Phoenix Holocaust Survivors' Association, Mallin said.
The next step is a $3.5 million capital campaign, said project coordinator Beryl Morton. The first goal is to raise $340,000 to pay off the building. The second is to renovate the synagogue and other buildings, she said.
The organization is researching renovation costs and working toward establishing the property as a city, state and national historical site, Mallin said.
Plans include transforming the attached annex, once used for classrooms, into themed galleries displaying AJHS archives and other exhibits including a Holocaust Remembrance room, Morton said.
Cottages on the property will also be used as galleries, and a rear building will house the historical society headquarters. "We're going to build a treasure, a jewel for this community," she said.
The building housed Temple Beth Israel from 1922-1949, a Chinese Baptist church until 1959, and most recently Iglesia Bautista, a Mexican Baptist Church.
"People have been praying in it for the last 60 years," Mallin said.
The property is directly east of the Burton Barr Public Library and within walking distance of the Phoenix Art Museum and the Heard Museum.
The synagogue is Arizona's second Jewish historic facility; the Stone Avenue Temple in Tucson, built in 1910, was reopened as a historic facility last year.
Phoenix public historian K. Trimble said she has been intrigued with the thought of the synagogue's restoration.
"It truly is the most historical landmark for Jewish history in this Valley," she said. "I've thought all along that it was a shame something was not done about it."
AJHS is planning a Jewish history fair for Nov. 10, including public tours of the property and related activities.
"We hope the community will support us in this very exciting project," Morton said.
For more information, call 602-241-7870.
Contact the writer at leisah_namm@jewishaz.com.
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