Temple Beth-El (Bonstelle Theatre)

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Temple Beth-El
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Facade from Woodward
Location:	Detroit, Michigan
Coordinates:	42°20′45.92″N 83°3′24.86″W / 42.3460889, -83.0569056Coordinates: 42°20′45.92″N 83°3′24.86″W / 42.3460889, -83.0569056
Built/Founded:	1902
Architect:	Albert Kahn; C. Howard Crane
Architectural style(s):	Beaux Arts
Added to NRHP:	August 03, 1982
NRHP Reference#:	82002911[1]
MPS:	Religious Structures of Woodward Ave. TR
Governing body:	Private

The Bonstelle Theatre is the undergraduate theater used by Wayne State University, and is located at 3424 Woodward Avenue (the southeast corner of Woodward and Eliot).^[2] It was originally built in 1902 as the Temple Beth-El.

[edit] Construction

When Rabbi Leo M. Franklin first began leading services of Detroit's Temple Beth El in 1899, he felt that the construction of a new temple building on Detroit's "Piety Row" stretch of Woodward would increase the visibility and prestige on Detroit's Jewish community.^[2] Accordingly, in October 0f 1900, the congregation held a special meeting at which it was decided to build a new temple.^[3] A site for the new temple was purchased in April of the next year, and Albert Kahn, a member of the congregation, was hired to design the building.^[3] Groundbreaking began on November 25, 1901, with the ceremonial cornerstone lain on April 23, 1902.^[3] The first services were held in the chapel on January 24, 1903, and the formal dedication was held on September 18-19 of the same year.^[3]

[edit] Building

The temple is a Beaux-Arts structure influenced primarily by Roman and Greek temples. There is a prominent dome over the main area of the temple, with gabled wings on the north and south. A pedimented extension on the front once extended into a porch; the front section of the building was lost when Woodward was widened.^[2]

[edit] Later use

When the Temple Beth El congregation built another building farther north along Woodward in 1922, they sold the building at Woodward and Eliot to Jessie Bonstelle fro $500,000.^[4] Bonstelle hired architect C. Howard Crane to convert the building into a theater, naming the resulting building the Bonstelle Playhouse.^[4] In 1928, the Bonstelle Playhouse became the Detroit Civic Theatre, and in the 1930s became the Mayfair Motion Picture Theater. In 1951, Wayne State University rented the building as a performance space for its theater company, and purchased it outright in 1956, renaming it the Bonstelle Theatre in honor of Jessie Bonstelle.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Bonstelle Theatre - Wayne State University

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