Temple B'Nai Israel (Olean, New York)

Temple B'Nai Israel is a Conservative movement congregation (though a member of the Union for Reform Judaism), and was established in 1894 as the Olean Hebrew Association[2] located in Olean, Cattaraugus County, New York.[3]

For similarly named synagogues, see B'nai Israel.
Temple B'Nai Israel
Temple B'Nai Israel, April 2012
Location127 S. Barry St., Olean, New York
Coordinates42°04′35″N 78°25′39″W
Arealess than one acre
Built1929
ArchitectHurd, J. Milton
NRHP reference No.11000995[1]
Added to NRHPJanuary 4, 2012

B'Nai Israel's current synagogue building is a three- to four-story tall, light brown brick structure with terra cotta decorative details.[3] Built in 1929, it measures 85 feet long, 42 feet wide, and 50 feet tall.[3] The front facade features a massive arched terra cotta portal encircling a large, round stained glass window.[3] It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2012.[1]

Both the temple and the congregation were established by Harris W. Marcus, a native of Mobile, Alabama who had come from Brooklyn and settled in Olean in 1881, establishing the first Jewish community in the region. Its attendance peaked during the World War II era as Jewish communities joined in solidarity against the ongoing Holocaust.[2] A Sefer Torah was donated in 1941 by Oscar Rosenbloom, a local merchant.[2]

As of 2017, synagogue membership had fallen to 23 families. At the time, B'Nai Israel still held regular services twice a month, but was reported to be in jeopardy of closing within the decade because of the ongoing exodus of young people away from the Olean area.[4] In July 2019, the synagogue announced that it would be closing after Yom Kippur services that fall as it seeks to rent a smaller facility; the Temple will be sold to a local community theater organization after the closure. (Before the Temple was constructed, the Olean Jewish community had rented facilities to serve as a house of worship.)[5] The sale would make the Temple the second standalone performance venue in Cattaraugus County, alongside the Ray Evans Seneca Theater in Salamanca. A zoning variance was unanimously approved in August to allow the conversion.[6] A Torah originally donated to the congregation was reunited with a family member of the original donor in 2019, Oscar Rosenbloom Jr., who then donated it to Camp Towonga, a Jewish youth summer camp outside Yosemite National Park in Northern California.[2] The temple was deconsecrated in December 2020; attendance had fallen even further by then, with only 16 families attending the high holiday services, which are the most-attended services on the calendar.[7] Following the deconsecration, the congregation will immediately move to rented space in the former Saint John's School on North Union Street for Hanukkah services.[7]

References
  1. "National Register of Historic Places Listings". Weekly List of Actions Taken on Properties: 1/03/12 through 1/06/12. National Park Service. 2012-01-13.
  2. "Sacred Torah passes from Olean to youth camp in Calif". Olean Times Herald. July 13, 2019. Retrieved July 13, 2019.
  3. Virginia L. Bartos (October 2011). "National Register of Historic Places Registration: Temple B'Nai Israel". New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. Retrieved 2013-04-20. See also: "Accompanying six photos".
  4. Dinki, Tom. "Dwindling B’Nai Israel congregation celebrates Rosh Hashanah", Olean Times Herald, September 21, 2017. Retrieved May 17, 2018
  5. Clark, Bob (July 8, 2019). "Olean Community Theatre eyes Temple B'Nai Israel as new home". Olean Times Herald. Retrieved July 8, 2019.
  6. https://wesb.com/2019/08/10/olean-board-approves-theater-project/
  7. Day-Sager, Kate (December 9, 2020). "Temple B'Nai Israel to conduct last service in synagogue Sunday". Olean Times Herald. Retrieved December 10, 2020.


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