Old Town
Temple B'nai Sholom
The story
Behind the sketch.
Huntsville's Jewish community organized Congregation B'nai Sholom in 1876, and spent its first years worshiping in rented rooms. By 1898, the congregation was ready for a home of its own. Chattanooga architect, Reuben Harrison Hunt, answered with this Romanesque Revival temple, dedicated in 1899. Its round arches, pressed brick, finials, unequal towers, and octagonal upper stage provide plenty to study before one even reaches the door. Inside, Hunt abandoned the obvious straight-ahead plan and turned the sanctuary onto a forty-five-degree axis. Restored in 1994, Temple B'nai Sholom remains the oldest synagogue building in continuous use in Alabama, and a lasting record of Huntsville's Jewish merchants, families, and later scientific community.
- Neighborhood
- Old Town
- Book location
- Page 70
