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Rabbi Arianna Silverman. 
“I’m looking forward to 
seeing her name when I walk 
into the building and being 
able to honor the values she 
cherished. It’s both inspiring 
and exciting to be able to do 
this, and it’s also going to be 
very painful and 
difficult.” 
Rachel 
Rudman, IADS 
executive 
director, added, 
“She poured so 
much of her heart 
and soul into this 
place and into the people that 
value this place so much. It’s 
so special and meaningful 
to be able to have her name 
permanently associated with 
the building, and to have her 
legacy and memory live on 
here through that.” 
When Samantha moved 
back to Detroit about 10 
years ago, she wanted a place 
where she could daven and 
observe her religion and 
its rituals and traditions. 

She found a home in the 
Downtown Synagogue.
“She fell in love with the 
synagogue, the people and 
the service,” said Margo Woll, 
Samantha’s mother. 
Samantha loved that the 
Downtown Synagogue was 
accepting of all people. She 
had friends there who were 
5 years old and 85 years 
old. She truly enjoyed the 
community aspect of the 
synagogue. 
“Samantha was extremely 
involved in the synagogue 
for the last decade. It became 
an enormous part of her 
life, and she gave a lot to it,” 
said Monica Woll Rosen, 
Samantha’s sister. 
“We felt a fitting 
way to recognize 
her dedication 
and her memory 
would be to 
always have her 
connected in 
some way to this 
space.”

PHASE 2 COMPLETION
Phase two of the renovation 
is completed, highlighted by 
the completion of the roof 
deck. 
The roof deck will be 
multipurpose. It will be 
used as a regular work and 
hangout space during the 
workweek for Downtown 
Synagogue staff and shared 
workspace partners. On 
evenings and weekends, it 
will be available for programs 
and events like small happy 
hours, rehearsal dinners 
and wedding receptions (the 
capacity is about 50 people). 
The synagogue is especially 
excited to use the roof deck 
as a space to put a sukkah 
outside. Those interested 
in booking the space are 
encouraged to reach out to 

the synagogue. 
The synagogue community 
has been beyond excited for 
the completed project. 
“People have asked to go 
up and see it, so we’ve taken 
small groups to see the 
construction as it’s moved 
along,” Rabbi Silverman said. 
“There’s something about 
being up there that makes 
you smile — to see the city, 
to feel the sunshine, to know 
you’re downtown in the city 
of Detroit, it feels very much 
like we’re in the place we 
belong.” 
The completed roof deck 
is also linked to the legacy of 
Samantha Woll. 
“She was actually the one 
leading the charge on the 
fundraising for the roof deck 
build-out, so having that be 

Monica 
Woll 
Rosen and 
Margo Woll

Rachel 
Rudman

LEFT: Sam Woll at last 
year’s Block Party.
BELOW: The rooftop 
space at IADS.

continued on page 12