National Register of Historic Places Program
The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation’s historic places worthy of preservation. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America’s historic and archeological resources.
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Property Name |
Temple Beth Israel |
|
Reference Number |
13000162 |
|
State |
Connecticut |
|
County |
Windham |
|
Town |
Danielson Town of Killingly |
|
Street Address |
39 Killingly Drive, Danielson Town of Killingly, CT |
|
Multiple Property Submission Name |
N/A |
|
Status |
Listed 04/16/2013 |
|
Areas of Significance |
ARCHITECTURE, ETHNIC HERITAGE/EUROPEAN, RELIGION |
|
Link to full file |
https://www.nps.gov/history/nr/feature/places/pdfs/13000162.pdf |
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Temple Beth Israel is significant for both its historical and architectural value, under Criteria A and C, respectively, at the State level of significance. Properties owned by religious institutions or used for religious purposes are usually not considered eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. However, Temple Beth Israel is a remarkably well-preserved example of a Modem Movement religious building. It was designed by two Jewish architects who were active in the Boston, Massachusetts area, which was an important center of Modem design in the 1950s. Temple Beth Israel was among the first synagogues in Connecticut designed in a wholly Modernist style, by graduates of two of the most prestigious art and design programs in the nation and who were studying, working alongside, and influenced by some of the most famous names in architecture of their generation. This building derives much of its significance from this architectural or artistic distinction. It is also significant because it was built largely by survivors of the Holocaust, who, while retaining their ethnic identity, decided on a distinctly American building for their place of worship. The first year of the period of significance is 1951, when the building was designed, ground was broken for the construction, and the basement level was completed, giving the congregants space to worship until 1961 when the main floor and sanctuary were completed. The last year of the period of significance is 1963, in keeping with the 50-year threshold for National Register of Historic Places properties. Temple Beth Israel owes its significance to several important factors. It is a religious building, used for decades by a mixed Orthodox and Conservative Jewish congregation. Both its design and heritage reflect the experiences of its members, most specifically the Holocaust of World War II. And yet, despite the fact that many of its members had recently emigrated from the Old World of Eastern Europe, the Temple came to be designed by two American Jews working at the height of the country’s Modernist movement. They created a building for the congregation that represented the newest trend in quintessentially American architecture. |
