Frank Lloyd Wright
synagogue in Pa.
named National
Historic Landmark
By AP from the
NYTimes on the Web, May 10, 2007
ELKINS PARK, Pa. -- The only
synagogue ever designed by Frank Lloyd Wright has been designated a National
Historic Landmark.
Beth Sholom, a soaring glass-and-concrete temple just outside Philadelphia,
began welcoming worshippers nearly 50 years ago. Last Sunday, the National
Park Service recognized it as one of the architect's greatest achievements.
''This is not just a historic site,'' said William Bolger, regional program
manager for the park service, said of the building conceived as a modern Mount
Sinai. ''It is a living monument to our nation's culture.''
The towering, flat-topped spire is constructed out of concrete, steel, aluminum
and glass. It's the only synagogue Wright created during his 70-year,
1,000-project career. Wright died in 1959, six months before Beth Sholom
was first used.
Beth Sholom is one of three Wright buildings recently given status as National
Historic Landmarks. The others are the Hollyhock House in Los Angeles and
the Price Tower in Bartlesville, Okla. They join other Wright buildings on
the list, including his home in Oak Park, Ill., Fallingwater in western
Pennsylvania and Taliesen West in Arizona.
The designation for the synagogue is part of the congregation's plan to make it
a semipublic site, one whose costly upkeep can be supported in part by tours,
government funding, philanthropy and a museum shop.
Beth Sholom is the fourth synagogue on the park service's list of about 2,500
national landmarks.
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