Gates of Heaven Synagogue
Shaarei Shamayim (Gates of Heaven) has been the name of two Jewish congregations in Madison, Wisconsin. The first, dating to the 19th century but no longer in existence, built what is now the eighth-oldest synagogue building still standing in the United States. The second congregation, dating to 1989, is the sole Reconstructionist congregation in Madison.
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The First Shaarei Shamayim [edit]
Madison's Shaarei Shamayim congregation was founded in 1856 by Jewish immigrants from Germany.[1] In 1863, they built a synagogue that was designed by August Kutzbock, a recent German immigrant, in the Rundbogenstil style, a nineteenth-century German form of Romanesque revival.[2] Kutzbock also used this distinctive style for the Pierce and Van Slyke Houses in the adjacent Mansion Hill district. The building now ranks as the eighth-oldest surviving synagogue building in the United States. The Panic of 1873 forced the lease of the building to a Unitarian congregation,[3] and in subsequent years it was repurposed to house the Women's Christian Temperance Union, other churches, and a funeral home.
It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1970, and in 1971, thanks to the efforts of local citizens, was purchased by the city, restored, and moved to James Madison Park.[4] Now located at the corner of Gorham and Butler Streets, the building is used for concerts, weddings, and other gatherings.[5]
Beginning in late 2011, Madison Minyan, an independent partnership minyan began using the synagogue building for monthly Friday night Jewish prayer services.[6]
The Second Shaarei Shamayim [edit]
The modern congregation was formed in 1989 by people who had attended Rosh Hashanah services led by Hannah Rosenthal at the Gates of Heaven Synagogue in James Madison Park.[7]
Since 2008, the congregation has shared the 1952 First Unitarian Society Meeting House designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.[8]
External links [edit]
References [edit]
- ^ Andrea Waxman, "In New Space, Madison’s Shaarei Shamayim Comes Full Circle", Jewish Chronicle, September 25, 2008 [1]
- ^ Mark W. Gordon, "Rediscovering Jewish Infrastructure: Update on United States Nineteenth Century Synagogues", American Jewish History 84.1 (1996) 11-27 [2]
- ^ Waxman
- ^ http://www.ci.madison.wi.us/Parks/goh.html
- ^ Gates of Heaven Celebrates 25 Years in James Madison Park
- ^ Madison Minyan website
- ^ Phil Haslanger, "New Era Begins for Unitarians and Jews", The Capital Times, 2008-09-17 [3]
- ^ Waxman
