Far
New York City's Temple
Emanu-El is the largest
Reform synagogue building
in the world. It was built
in 1929 by the architectural
firm of Kohn, Butler er
Stein (Robert D. Kohn,
Charles Butler and Clarence
S. Stein). The structure is
highly reminiscent of the
great Romanesque cathedrals
of Europe. This is the view
from the bimah. The
window faces Central Park.
Left, top to bottom:
Congregation Rodef Shalom
in Pittsburgh was built in
1906 and is on the Registry
of National Historic
Buildings. The architects
were Palmer & Hornbostel
with the majority of the
design work being done
Henry Hornbostel
(1867-1961). Hornbostel
designed many of the
original buildings on the
campus of the Carnegie
Institute of Technology
(now Carnegie Mellon).
The historic synagogue in
Szeged was built in 1903
and is the second-largest
synagogue in Hungary.
The architect, Baumhorn
Lipot (1860-1932),
was a Budapest architect
who became Europe's
most prolific architect
of synagogues.
This small and beautiful
synagogue, Temple Jacob; was
built in Hancock in
Michigan's Upper Peninsula
in 1912. It was named after
prominent local merchant
Jacob Gartner. The name of
the architect has been
lost to posterity.
study on Albert Kahn Associates, and on
the covers and pages of Architectural
Record, Inland Architect, Italy's
L'architettura, VM+SD, Contract Design,
Cdrp! and other prestigious magazines.
As Karen C. Kelly, director of business
development for Farmington Hills-based
builder Etkin. Skansa put it, "If you want your
project to be on a magazine cover, hire Laszlo."
Southfield architect Jordan London, presi-
dent of Edmund London & Associates,
praised Regos for the - artistic elements of his
photography.
Said London, "Laszlo uses light and other
dramatic effects to enhance design qualities
for our buildings. He'll take that extra step
and wait until twilight for a shot, put all the
lights on in a building, and even wet the
pavement to capture a reflection."
A New Mount Sinai'
That same professional attention to detail is
evident in Regos' synagogue photographs.
Before photographing Beth Sholom, he
learned that the Philadelphia congregation's
Rabbi Mortimer Cohen was as influential
in the design as was Wright himself.
"[Rabbi Cohen] called it a Traveling
Mount Sinai,' "said Regos.
Built between 1953 and 1959, Beth Sholom
was Wright's last work. He died at age 91 a
few months before the official dedication.
"I am reading a book about the con-
struction, and Wright was a major pain in
the butt," added Regos.
Sometimes Regos' photographs of the
synagogues amaze even those who work
there. "Laszlo has a very creative eye," said
Harvey Friedrich, executive director of
Beth Sholom.
"He looks at a building in ways other
people do pot normally see it. That's where
his creativity really shines. I've seen his
photographs of some of the other syna-
gogues as well and they are breathtaking."
Regos pays a lot of attention to the
often-ornate domes and ceilings as well as
the windows of the synagogues he shoots.
That is particularly evident in his photo-
graphs of the church-like windows of
Temple Emanu-El in New York.
The largest Reform synagogue building
in the world, it was completed in 1929,
and held its first religious service just weeks
before the stock market crashed.
On the West Coast, Regos has pho-
tographed Los Angeles' famous Wilshire
Boulevard Temple, which is listed on the
Registry of National Historic Buildings.
Like New York's Temple Emanu-El, it also
was completed in 1929. The architect was
A.W. Edelman.
Regos' photographs of the Los Angeles tem-
ple's interior play up the colors of the unusual
wall frescos, which depict biblical scenes.
"Traditionally, Jewish sanctuaries lack the
visual reproductions of humans, because of
the interpretation of one of [the Ten
Commandments]," he said. "The Wilshire
Boulevard Temple is the first, if not the
only one, which has paintings in it."
The murals are the work of Hugo Bailin,
a multi-talented writer, stage designer and
artist, who also designed the commemora-
tive medallion for the 1932 Los Angeles
Olympics. They are known as the Warner
Murals after the temple members who
bankrolled the project — Jack, Harry and
Abe Warner, the Warner Brothers of
PRAYERFUL PORTRAITS on page 70
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2002
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