Beth Israel Synagogue (Norwalk, Connecticut)

Beth Israel Synagogue
Front entrance, May 18, 2012
Location 31 Concord St., Norwalk, Connecticut
Coordinates 41°5′35″N 73°25′9″W / 41.09306°N 73.41917°WCoordinates: 41°5′35″N 73°25′9″W / 41.09306°N 73.41917°W
Built 1906
Architectural style Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals, Moorish Revival
Governing body Private
NRHP Reference # 91001684[1]
Added to NRHP November 29, 1991

The former Beth Israel Synagogue is a historic Orthodox synagogue building located at 31 Concord Street in the South Norwalk section of the city of Norwalk, Connecticut. The Moorish Revival style building is the only known synagogue building in Connecticut displaying Moorish onion domes, and an unusual example of an urban wood-frame synagogue.[2] Built in 1906, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1991.[1] Since 1972 the building has been owned by Canaan Institutional Baptist Church.[3] Beth Israel's Orthodox congregation is now known as Beth Israel of Norwalk/Westport and worships in a new building at 40 King Street in Norwalk.[4]

The building's design is influenced by that of the 1872 Central Synagogue in New York City, which also has onion domes. While the onion domes are an unusual detail, the architecture is otherwise within usual standards for synagogues in Connecticut. Beth Israel is further the only frame-construction, rather than wood-frame, synagogue in Connecticut of its era.[5]:8-9

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