![]() ![]() These photos provided the missing architectural details needed to recreate the interior of the synagogue as it had looked in the mid-1900s. Upon hearing of the planned renovations, Stanley Warsaw z"l brought Zuckerman an album with photos from Warsaw’s 1949 wedding ceremony in the building. To the knowledge of the developers, no photos of the inside of the original sanctuary could be found. However, a historically accurate restoration proved difficult. The developers decided that the sanctuary would be reconstructed to look as it did when it was used as a synagogue, but that some practical enhancements would be added to allow the structure to be used as a working sanctuary. Since 1908, the building had always been occupied despite the constant use, the architects found that it was in remarkably good condition. Zuckerman, Pollin z''l, and Jemal set out to restore the historic structure, embarking on a community-wide effort and enlisting the help of former congregants and their descendants.ĭC architects Shalom Baranes and Associates volunteered to oversee the restoration of the building to its original state. It was like Broadway.”Ģ002-2004 Historic restorations on Sixth & I begin. Maybe 500 to 1000 people would be walking the streets. One congregant, Leo Bernstein, recounted, “During the High Holidays all of us young people used to meet each other and walk up and down the streets between the synagogues. On the High Holidays, I Street is closed off to accommodate for the sidewalks and streets filled with people walking to and from the synagogues. Jewish life occasionally supersedes secular life in the neighborhood. The synagogue opens to rave reviews, including an article in The Washington Post that exclaims, “From an architectural standpoint, the new temple ranks with the best church edifices in the city.” With the dedication on January 6, 1908, Adas Israel becomes the third synagogue in a thriving Jewish neighborhood, with Ohev Shalom, an Eastern European congregation established in 1906, at 5th and I Streets, and Washington Hebrew Congregation on 8th Street, just south of I Street. 1908 Adas Israel opens, ushering in a vibrant era of Jewish life in downtown Washington. ![]()
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