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The original shul building of the Ohev Shalom synagague was built in 1916. The facade was made of clay orange brick with subtle limestone accents and stained glass windows. Men and women each had their own entrance to the building, which was gender segregated.
A small school building was added to the right side of the sanctuary in 1928.
The inside of the sanctuary was mu decorated than the outside. Beautiful hand painted zodiac symbols formed a band across the turquoise field of the ceiling. A grand chandelier hung down from the center. Beautiful stained glass filled the windows on each level.
During services the girls and women of the congregation sat on the balcony while boys and men occupied the main floor. Curtains were hung to divide the genders as is customary in orthodox Judaism.
Over the next few decades the congregation slowly dwindled until there weren't enough men to sustain a minyan. In 2003 the synagague closed for good. The building was sold to B'nai Yakkov Shlomo Mordecai, another orthodox group.
As far as I can tell the B'nai Yakkov Shlomo Mordecai congregation never ended up using the building. Instead they let it sit vacant for more than 20 years as water and animals forced their way in, laying waste to the building.
Eventually the buildings were sold to John and Maryan LLC who promptly filed for demolition permits. Initially the community pushed back, but after the developers agreed to salvage the stained glass windows the permits were eventually approved. After a brief flash of popularity in the Urban Exploration community the buildings were demolished by 2026.
The demoliton of Ohev Shalom had an impact on the city's historic preservation perspective. Council members discussed being more insistent that developers save the facades of historic buildings they plan to demolish. Its a step in the right direction for sure. Hopefully the conversation shifts again to full on preservation begore the city loses all its historic charm.
Thanks for reading.
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