Jewish History Museum (Tucson)

The Jewish History Museum, formerly known as the Jewish Heritage Center of the Southwest, is a museum housed in a historic synagogue building in Tucson, Arizona. The museum's building, which housed the first synagogue in the Arizona Territory, is the oldest synagogue building in the state.

For other uses, see Jewish Museum.
The Jewish History Museum
Location within Arizona
Established2005
Location564 South Stone Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85701-2308
Coordinates32.2142°N 110.9702°W / 32.2142; -110.9702
TypeJewish Museum
DirectorBryan Davis
Websitehttp://www.jewishhistorymuseum.org

Stone Avenue Temple

The building is the original home of Temple Emanu-El ( Tucson), built in 1910. The pioneer Jewish Women's organization, then called the Hebrew Benevolent Society were the individuals who lobbied for a permanent Jewish house of worship in the then Arizona Territory .[1] The historic synagogue is a brick structure designed by architect Ely Blount. Blount blended a pedimented, pilastered Greek revival facade with rounded windows and twin towers in Rundbogenstil style. In 1937 the building's front facade was covered with stucco. The original stained-glass windows have been lost.[2] The building is listed in on the National Register of Historic Places.[3] Efforts to preserve the synagogue garnered national attention when it received the National Preservation Honor Award from the National Trust for Historic Preservation.[4]

The Museum

The Museum was created in 2005 by the merger of the non-profit that was formed to rescue the building from destruction in 1998 - The Historic Stone Avenue Temple Project with the Jewish Historical Society of Southern Arizona.[5][6]

In addition to its permanent collection, the Museum hosts exhibitions, lectures, the annual Ketubah and Antique wedding gown exhibit and the Jewish Storytelling Festival as well as is the home of the Jewish Arizona Oral History Project.[7][8]

See also

References
  1. http://www.templeemanueltucson.org/history.html
  2. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2008-07-04. Retrieved 2009-08-13.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2008-09-07. Retrieved 2009-01-13.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. http://jewishtucson.org/page.aspx?id=50031%5B%5D
  5. Venerable Tucson institutions merge into Jewish Heritage Center, Phyllis Braun, Jewish Tucson, 10/7/05
  6. Jewish Heritage Report, Vol. I, No. 2 / Summer 1997, American Report Part II, AMERICAN NOTES, Tucson’s Stone Avenue Temple to be Jewish Cultural Center
  7. Venerable Tucson institutions merge into Jewish Heritage Center, Phyllis Braun, Jewish Tucson, 10/7/05
  8. Not Just Desert: Tucson Touches on It All!, December 27, 2007, Aaron Dalton, Jewish Exponent
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