PiEfjErRorr,frAistitARotocus

PAGE TWO

•-•

***oci-o-aa-o-c-o-rma,m-o-Gov-mmooao-o-o-ocmo-****-o-o-wra ot,"
standby of formal distinction. Hence cost of this synagogue is not unduly Lure, and the modern architect who
the modern American building is of- to stretch the purses of even the most has learned some of the essentials of
ten superbly designed from within, prosperous congregation, these acces- his craft from men like L. H. Sulli-
To Our Hundreds of Jewish Friends and
and the modern synagogue will prob- gory functions must be capable of van. B. G. Goodhue and F. L. Wright,
ably have perfect acoustics, restful very simple architectural treatment, in America, now realizes that all his
Patrons We Extend Our Sincerest Wishes
lighting, ample seating space, so that they will not take away force must be concentrated in han-
the
For a Happy and Prosperous New Year.
thorough ventilation; but the expres- esthetically or materially from the dling the masses--in adjusting
proportions
of cube and egg. For-
prop
sion itself will be sacrificed, and its cen ral buildin g.
meaning as a Jewish building, as a
From a religious standpoint, then, tunately, the example of Byzantine
from St. Sophia down-
house of worship and instruction, will the synagogue must express the Jew- architecture
are rich in honest precedents,
scarcely be alluded to by its archi- tub conception of the cosmos; cul- wards
show how the dignity of the
tectural treatment. So far from ex- turally it must proclaim the unity of which
mass can be combined with
ternalizing the Jewish spirit, the the Jewish community; socially, the central
more utilitatrian necessities of its
architect too often politely conceals modern synagogue must admit the the
it—as though its exposure were bad broader conception of religion as lesser parts. This has been very suc-
done in the San Francisco
form. Sometimes this is due to his identified in practical life with "so- cessfully
temple I have just referred to; and
own uncertainty and weakness; very cial service." These considerations already
there
are enough examples
often, no doubt, it reflects the charac- automatically remove the galaxy of of this treatment
in America to show
teristics of the congregation, or of its "styles" which the ordinary architect that there is no requirement
from the
carries in his sample case: whatever
dominant members.
little
community
to the
their narrow esthetic merits as great enclosure of a buildings
V
many-sided
met-
they fall down complete- ropolitan congregation that the dome
We have determined that in archi- "building"
Cadillac 1560
Second Floor Majestic Bldg.
ly,
for
Jewish
purposes,
as
expres-
C
tecture function and expression must sion. Doric, Roman, Tudor, Renais- and the cube, intelligently used, can-
p
be one. Our question now becomes:
not measure up to. One further ad-
o o
Colonial, yes, and Moorish— vantage. It is hard to conceive of the 00-41-00-0-0-0001:00000*******-1:1-0
00
what functions and expressions are sance,
these
are
but
names
for
various
proper to the synagogue, and in what schemes of protective coloration.
Parthenon in brick, or a Romanesque
church in stucco; it is not merely easy
way may they best be achieved? Our
9iiri
gaREIVEMIN
,
to conceive of a simple Byzantine
discussion so far would be academic,
III la
VI
form
in
these
materials,
it
is
also
if it did not provide us with a canon
Putting aside the Greek temples
for Jewish building; a canon which which were meant to enshine the possible to conceive of using glass
will permit the Jew to build his own image of a god and not to house the and steel in more delicate and shapely
shell not inharmoniously within the worshippers, two great architectural way than they have been used before.
larger shell of an American communi- symbols of all the religions have been Good masonry is hard to achieve in
ity .
the dome and the spire; and as the modern America: some of the excel-
Centrally a synagogue is a hall for second form rudely symbolizes aspire- lence of the Temple Beth Zion in
worship, and with respect to this re-I tion, so does the first one summon up Buffalo and the Temple Beth-El in
quirement the Orthodox and the Re- the notion of unity. Now it happens New York City is forfeited by the in-
form congregations are one. From that in the hundred ways of using the congruous effort to obtain "texture"
the point of view of philosophy, Ju- dome, that which was developed by through the use of masonry. Ferro-
daism seems to express the nation of the Byzantine architects is most fer- concrete, on the other hand, is a ma-
a physical and moral cosmos, and tile in its suggestions for the present terial that the American builder is
Kant's awe before the starry firma- day; it also happens that this method learning rapidly how to use: its re-
ment above and the moral law within was embodied in what is externally sources do not tax a community
can, as Professor Patrick Geddes has one of the most successful of Jewish which has not a sufficient supply of
pointed out, be traced without much synagogues—the great synagogue at Italian stone-masons, and it is a type
10650 CLOVERDALE AVE.
difficulty back to its origin in the Old Florence. It was not without regard of construction which meets admir-
Testament. The feeling that the con- for Jewish tradition that Messrs. ably the structural necessities of the
Garfield 3097 - 4500
science is as significant as the firma- Geddes and Mears used the dome in dome and the cube. Plain masses, I-
ment, and that the stars and the soul their plan for the great hall of con- unbroken surfaces, concentrated or-
of man are aspects of a Unity—this vention in the university in Jerusa- nament—these are the esthetic re-
seems to be the animating philosophy lem; and they achieved an additional sults that most of our best modern
of Judaism. There are other philoso- symbolism by making the dome work aims at; and it is on these lines
phies which regard men as an acci- spring from hexagonal walls—the that the better synagogues of Amer-
dent and the conscience as an epi- hexagon being the figure formed on ica are now beginning to shape them-
selves. This is at once a return to
phenomenon; and there are those that the inside of the Mogen Dovid.
the oriental foundations of Jewish
regard the universe as a had dream
If it were possible for the dome architecture, and to a sound geo-
1360 PENOBSCOT BLDG. CHERRY 5278
and man's life as a phantasm within to be used consistently in synagogue
that dream; but whatever form of architecture in America, a very defi- metrical foundation of art. It prom-
ises
to
weld
together
what
is
best
in
building would express these concep- nite step would be taken towards a
NEW YEAR'S GREETINGS
tions, it is plain that a Jewish syna- coherent architectural style, which
(Continued on page 5.)
gogue should express something of would give the stamp of Judaism to
the external grandeur and serenity of a synagogue, as plainly as the
the cosmos, and something of the dig- baroque gives the stamp of the Jesuit
nity of man's life, whose every action order to a church. Once the problem
.1111111111 ■ 111111.11.M.1111111.11.1.111.111Mini
Judaism has made an element in a of the architecture is not in what
ritual--as if even the lowest details "style" to "put" the synagogue, but
of existence were, in a dramatic limply, how can the dome be related to
•11111111111111111.1
sense, "business." Poverty and po- its subordinate cubical masses, we
krounsoumnunniarresiimumememommoormn omrtmck
litical repression have in the past of- should be back again on the same road
ten made the Jew keep his religoius that the traditional builders in Pales-
conceptions to himself, and worship tine and the adjacent territories fol-
GREETINGS OF THE SEASON
in buildings which were obviously lowed.
Faasumaitmalaatiltliminigaudia
secular and common place in charac-
It is absurd to expect a successful
ter. In America at the present time, esthetic expression when the archi-
RANDOLPH 8945
however, there is no reason why this tect has the alternative of designing
1124 PENOBCOT BLDG.
inhibition should be preserved; no a whole building anew, or of taking
reason why the synagogue itself over dismembered details from exist-
should not echo in architectural treat- ing buildings. The perfection of the
ment the mature and profound con- 1 Greek temple was achieved by using
AETNA
caption of the Jewish religion and a single architectural form and re-
■•■■■■■•■■••■■•■■■■■■■•■■■■■•■■■■■■■■•••■■■•■■■ ∎1 philosophy. I fining every detail by repeated experi-
A CEMENT FOR ANY PURPOSE
The second mission of the syna- ment until each part was in mathe-
gogue is to bring together the Jewish matical harmony with every other
Plants at Bay City and Fenton, Mich.
community for the sake of preserv- part and the whole building sang the
ing their cultural heritage; it is no "music of the spheres." Tradition,
1518 BUHL BUILDING, DETROIT
exaggeration to say that this institu- used in this fashion, is the very key
tion, a very produce of the Diaspora, to freedom of expression, even as a
RANDOLPH 0775
has been the one element in Jewish consistent grammar leaves the mind
material civilization which has kept free to deal more lucidly with its
Manager
0. J. LINGEMAN, G
alive and transmitted Jewish culture; ideas.
and it is for lack of such a central in-
The use of the dome has one fur-
stitution that other nationalities no ther advantage: it solves the problem
often get swallowed up in a foreign of the subordinate parts of the build-
community. To express this mission, ing. Cezanne once said that every-
the synagogue should if possible be thing in nature was either a cube or
placed in a physically central posi- an eoc; and whether or not this is
tion to the rest of the community. true in nature, it is true in architec-
This is of course easier to do in a new
town or suburb than in an established
city; but in each case it should be the
111111111111111111111111M1111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111ifig
aim; for the Talmudic requirement
that the synagogue should tower Ell1111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111
above the surrounding buildings does
not merely demand height: it de-
mends scale and relationship.
In American cities that have been
molded by the checkerboard plan this
requirement is difficult to meet: one
of the ways of achieving it where
land-values are sufficiently low is to
buy enough surrounding land for a
small park or garden. The main
Christian Science Church in Boston
el
, .,
has attacked very neatly the difficulty
el; • ••••.4
to r t/
in getting an approach to a blank
and otherwise inaccessible site; and
where the city plan can no longer be
modified, the expedient of leading
up to the building through a little
park is an excellent substitute: in-
deed, a cheap obscure site behind a
main thoroughfare, with a passage,
from the avenue, is usually prefer-
able to the noise and vibration, to '
say nothing of the commercial site
costs, of the avenue itself.
WALNUT 4934
5431 WABASH AVE.
There is always a temptation in anl
American community to sacrifice spa-
ciousness of site to magnitude of
structure or costly schemes of deco- I
otc■■•■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■•■■■■■■A ration; but this is a short-sighted pol-
icy, particularly in a Jewish syna-
ti
gogue. It is estheticaly short-sighted
because it neglects the fact that no
building is beautiful in itself: it is
beautiful only when a certain har-
monious relationship exists between
itself and the spectator and the sur-
rounding buildings. This is why
many a synagogue that promises well
on paper turns out to be dull and un-
interesting in fact, because there is
no way of properly approaching it,
or no way of cutting it off from ugly
and formidable surroundings. To
drop into the mood of a worshipper
by walking through a pleasant court
or arcade or garden is preferable to
leaving abruptly the indifferent jun-
gle of the streets. Moreover, there
_ —
tor
is an economic reason for acquiring
a spacious site; for by securing land
around a synagogue in advance of use
Office, -)985 Roulo Ave., Spiingwells, Michigan
the congregation provides room for
I further growith; and in the renais-
sance that institutional Judaism
Plant: Roula Ave. and Al. C. R. R.
to be undergoing in many
ei° seems
American communities, the necessity
Phone Cedar 3811-0761
0 for further expansion should not be
I neglected. It is not often that beauty
and business are in such close ac-
• 0 cord!
/
I
There is a further element, how-
ever which complicates the task of
for $5.00
synagogue building, and which adds
to the interest of the problem. I re-
e., 1
fer to the fact that the synagogue
SPECIAL PLANS
has always been more than a place
OUR MOTTO:
of prayer; and today in the "pro-
Of Stores, Apartments and Com-
gressive" congregations it has become
increasingly a home for other modes
mercial Buildings.
of religious and ethical expression;
or, to put it more familiarly, th e
modern synagogue contains clubs,
-:
WE EXTEND NEW YEAR'S GREETINGS
circles, parents' associations, and *1=
sometimes, as in the synagogue pro.
jected for Rabbi Louis I. Newman's I
congregation in San Francisco, a th e- I
ater. Hence the architectural mode
most not merely be monumental and
dignified enough to express the idea
MARKET
BLDG.
301 - 303 ItItOADWAY
of a place of worship: it must also be I
flexible enough to house other activi-
Telephone Main 1125
tles—gymnasium, auditorium, club-
room, community house, must all be
embraced by its walls. And if the

-

•

-

The
Season's Greetings

We Wish All Our Jewish Friends
and Patrons a Happy and Pros-
perous New Year.

Walter Gehrke C

REALTORS

e

THE SEASON'S GREETINGS

Detroit Frame
& Mtg. Co.

Incorporated

Samuel Feldman

REAL
ESTATE

WILLIAM D. DULAC

PROPERTY
MANAGEMENT

Aetna

I

Portland Cement Co.

! I I 1

Rosh Hashonah
Greetings

r OP

We take great pleasure
in wishing A Happy
New Year to our host
of Jewish friends.

A

STERLING BRICK
COMPANY

BUILDING
PLANS

Houses, Flats
J and Bungalows

7r143.111

.c1.11 ijear El An

John A. Mercier
BRICK
Company

Manufacturers of

COMMON BRICK

5

FJ.

-1=4

Two Sets

"Service, Quality and Courtesy, Always"

Building Service Bureau

:E=

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t
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