West Hollywood is better known for its dens of inequity than its houses of worship, which may be why the troubles of Temple Beth-el have often been overlooked. This beautiful building has served the Jewish community from its location on Crescent Heights Blvd. for half a century, which may not be enough to save it from the wrecking ball. Alas, the temple’s days as a temple seem to be numbered.
It’s pretty common knowledge that the movie industry was founded by a group of mostly Jewish merchants who moved their business from the NYC area to LA in search of sunny weather that allowed year-round filming outdoors. Louis Mayer, Carl Laemmle, Lewis Selznick, Samuel Goldfish (Goldwyn) and Adolph Zukor were among the early pioneers who brought their Jewish faith with them to the West Coast, bringing the need for a new synagogue serving the Hollywood community.
Temple Beth El had its beginnings back in 1920 when services were first held in a bungalow located at 1414 North Wilton Place, which is now the site of a Home Depot. In 1922 a brand new synagogue was erected at 1508 North Wilton Place, a location not far from the very successful new Hollywood movie studios. An early president of Temple Beth El was Benjamin Warner, patriarch of the family that founded Warner Brothers Studios. Contributors to a New Year’s tribute book honoring him included Loretta Young, Joan Blondell, Edward G Robinson, Joe E. Brown, Barbara Stanwyck and many more.
This site was well-suited for its purpose until the 1950s, when the state of California began building a brand new freeway system. Unfortunately, 1508 North Wilton Place sat at the exit ramp of the 101, the Hollywood Freeway. This is when plans began for moving Temple Beth El to a less congested neighborhood. In 1952, a brand new, much larger Temple Beth El opened at 1317 North Crescent Heights Blvd., on the corner of Fountain Ave. An addition was built in 1972.
Over the following years, the temple hosted a religious studies program, a nursery school and various social programs in addition to Jewish learning and worship. Temple Beth El has also been the site of many banquets, weddings and Bar Mitzvahs. The temple has received numerous honors for its service to the community.
Change came in 1997 when the building was acquired by the Iranian American Jewish Federation. In February 2020, the IAJF submitted a request to develop the site and in November received permission to redevelop Temple Beth El into a five-story, 90-unit residential building. Appeals were filed stating the building’s rich history and the fact that the temple serves many elderly Holocaust survivors.
Surprisingly, a 2016 Commercial Historic Resources Survey failed to declare Temple Beth El a historic landmark, a decision questioned by Victor Omelczenko, board president of the West Hollywood Preservation Alliance. He stated, “Temple Beth El warrants having a specific historic resource assessment conducted before any decisions are made about its demolition.”
No historical designation was forthcoming and, as our esteemed editor Brandon Garcia reported on July 18, “In a move that underscores the tension between preserving local history and addressing pressing housing needs, West Hollywood City Council voted to deny an appeal and approve a residential development at a site that currently hosts a building of community and historic significance.”
This isn’t a major shock since “development” trumps history any day of the week in today’s West Hollywood as another piece of our history is destroyed. I’m sure that some of our WeHoville readers have opinions about the demolition of a beloved landmark, so let’s hear them. Fortunately, Rabbi Doctor Norbert Weinberg has lovingly documented the long history of Temple Beth El and has recorded it on his website, http://www.rabbinorbert.com/.
We have always looked to the Jewish religious and communal needs of the people of our unique neighborhoods. We identify ourselves as following the traditions of Judaism while making it work for the 21st century. For that reason, we have men and women together participating in our services, and we have reached out to the home-bound and the ill or elderly through our live streaming of our services. We blend the religious traditions of our communities, who bring the traditions of Ladino, Persian, and Eastern Europe Jewry, as well as the modern traditions of American Jewry . We have been a… Read more »
Hollywood Temple Beth El members are excited to return to the main sanctuary for High Holy Day services as we celebrate over 100 years of service to our community. We are working out arrangements now with the Iranian American Jewish Federation to continue to make this congregation viable. Rise up on High these High Holy Days with our blend of traditional and contemporary Ashkenazic and Sephardic prayers and melodies, with teachings by Rabbi Norbert Weinberg and Dr. Isaac Norman, and chanting by Cantor Issac Boudaie. Our personalized prayer book is specially designed with contemporary readings, translations, and transliterations, to make the ancient… Read more »
The article ignores the fact that many Jewish temples are closing coast to coast. Except for the Orthodox very few Jews go to temple anymore. There is nothing unique about that building. It was never very interesting inside and there are similar buildings in Los Angeles.
Unfortunately, the Appeal had nothing whatsoever to do with the viability or longevity of the Jewish religion. It was focused on the assessment or rather faulty underassessment of the building itself. Aside from the fact that it was designed by an architect of merit, the City accepted admittedly flawed information from GPA consulting, neglecting to do even the minimum of amount of physical and factual research. The value of the building is also relevant to the founding congregation and its subsequent place in the Hollywood Film Community established by its notables. Whether you are an admirer of the architectural style… Read more »
This article appeared in last week’s Beverly Press which talks about some of the unresolved issues that well might have been resolved before an appeal was filed. It takes willing parties to uphold the ordinances that the city has initiated. Manipulating the process is beyond an ethical dilemma and a bad look for the city.
https://beverlypress.com/2023/07/temple-beth-el-proposal-was-not-properly-vetted/
Anyone who is against this project should have or should be directing their ire at the owners, the Iranian American Jewish Federation. This is not a project where a ruthless developers pushed their plans on a community by scooping up an old building or piece of land. This project is IAJF development.
Au Contraire. The IAJF/IAJC and their tenant Tempe Beth El are actually rather tangential to the core issue and the Appeal was never an attempt to litigate goals or purpose regarding potential development. The key is the appearance that the City and their contract personnel may have accepted problematic information and manipulated findings on several levels then when questioned, appeared impervious to a review of the facts. The question is does a City ethically stand by their ordinances, policies and procedures or perhaps leave enough grey area so they may be subverted? Integrity of process not only relates to land… Read more »
You are incorrect. If the IAJF did/does not want to proceed with the project, they can end it and keep the building as is. Simple as that.
What evidence do you have that the IAJF does or did not want to proceed with the project?
Thanks for keeping us informed on this worrisome situation
In the City’s zeal to approve this problematic development, they accepted flawed information from the contracted Historic Preservation Consultants that compiled the 2016 Commercial Survey. Although the principle is no longer affiliated with the company, the associates appear to have cut and pasted pieces of information into an “Expedited Memorandum” jin January, two months after an Appeal was filed without apparently ever having investigated the premises thus compounding their errors. Strangely the Planning Commission in November, neglected to declare a time out to further scrutinize the obviously flawed material. The designation of 6-Z on the Commercial Survey denotes that the… Read more »
I’m surprised that the building wasn’t submitted for historic status by the previous owner years ago.
As I understand, several inquiries to the city were brushed off and the city gave no information about helpful steps an owner or interested party would undertake to apply for/seek historic status. Strangely enough, candidates that were selected as possible candidates resulting from the survey received letters informing them of appropriate steps and owner could take. One would think that if a principal at the Temple made an inquiry, the City Staffer should have exercised a minimum of responsibility and curiosity about a perceived landmark within 6 blocks of City Hall. Meanwhile the City lauds itself as an “advocate’ for… Read more »
A travesty.
Wish I could send you an email instead.
Inequity is not the word; iniquity is.
thank you Linda for another great article!