B'nai Israel Synagogue and Montefiore Cemetery
B'nai Israel Synagogue and Montefiore Cemetery in Grand Forks, North Dakota consists of historic B'nai Israel Synagogue built in 1937 at 601 Cottonwood Street and its related historic Montefiore Cemetery at 1450 North Columbia Road which dates from 1888. B'Nai Israel (Hebrew for "Sons/Children of Israel") Synagogue was designed by noted Grand Forks architect Joseph Bell DeRemer in the Art Deco style of architecture and built by local builders Skarsbro and Thorwaldson at a cost of $14,000. It replaced the earlier wooden Congregation of the Children of Israel synagogue built in 1891 at 2nd Avenue, South & 7th Street. Montefiore Cemetery in Grand Forks is one of many institutions named for Sir Moses Montefiore.[2] On October 13, 2011, B'nai Israel Synagogue and Montefiore Cemetery was added to the National Register of Historic Places [3] [4] [5] [6]
B'nai Israel Synagogue and Montefiore Cemetery | |
Location | Synagogue: 601 Cottonwood St. Cemetery: 1450 N. Columbia Rd. Grand Forks, North Dakota |
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Area | 1 acre (0.40 ha) |
Built | Synagogue 1937; Cemetery 1888 |
Built by | Skarsbro and Thorwaldson |
Architect | Joseph Bell DeRemer |
Architectural style | Art Deco |
NRHP reference No. | 11000745 [1] |
Added to NRHP | October 13, 2011 |
The congregation was first chartered on August 26, 1891. It was founded by Eastern European Jews, including Jews fleeing pogroms in Russia and Lithuanian Jews. In the early 1990s, B'nai Israel joined the Union of American Hebrew Congregations (now the Union for Reform Judaism).[7]
References
- "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
- Chabad.org: Sir Moses Montefiore
- NRHP weekly listing, October 21, 2011
- Old photo of Congregation of the Children of Israel synagogue
- Jewish Cemetery Project listing
- Papermaster, Isadore, History of the North Dakota Jewish Community
- Lieberman, Victor. "The Early History". bnaiisraelnd.org. Retrieved February 22, 2013.
External links
- B'nai Israel Synagogue website
- Montefiore Cemetery at Find A Grave
- Teri Finneman, North Dakota Sites Recommended for NRHP
- Kimberly K. Porter, Ph.D, Taking the University to the People: Experiential Education via Oral History, recounts an oral history project involving Jewish life in Grand Forks
- Museum of Family History, excerpt from Jewish Life in a Small North Dakota Town, circa 1940s, by Gladys Smith of Grand Forks