Temple Beth-El (Lighthouse Cathedral)
Encyclopedia
The church building at 8801 Woodward Avenue (Woodward at Gladstone) in Detroit, Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....

 is a historic building. It was built in 1921 as Temple Beth-El. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

 in 1982.

Architecture

In 1921 Detroit's Temple Beth El
Temple Beth El (Detroit, Michigan)
Temple Beth El, also known as Temple Beth-El, is a Reform synagogue currently located in Bloomfield Township, Michigan. Beth El was founded in 1850 in the city of Detroit, and is the oldest Jewish congregation in Michigan....

, under Rabbi Leo M. Franklin
Leo M. Franklin
Leo Morris Franklin was an influential rabbi from Detroit, who headed that city's Temple Beth El from 1899 to 1941.- Early life :...

's leadership, had outgrown its previous building at Woodward and Eliot
Temple Beth-El (Bonstelle Theatre)
The Bonstelle Theatre is a theater operated by Wayne State University, and is located at 3424 Woodward Avenue . It was originally built in 1902 as the Temple Beth-El, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.-Construction:When Rabbi Leo M...

. In addition, many members of the congregation had moved to areas such as Boston-Edison and Atkinson Avenue that did not proscribe Jewish residents. The congregation obtained a parcel of land near these neighborhoods at Woodward and Gladstone and engaged congregant Albert Kahn to design a new temple. The cornerstone for the new building was laid on September 20, 1921, with the dedication on November 10-12, 1922.

The Kahn-designed temple is a classical, flat-roofed structure built from limestone. On the facade facing Woodward, eight ionic columns form an enormous porch and frame three large pairs of doors. Along the facade facing Gladstone, eight tall, narrow are framed by massive piers.

History

In the early 1974, the Beth El congregation moved again, this time to Bloomfield Hills
Temple Beth El (Detroit, Michigan)
Temple Beth El, also known as Temple Beth-El, is a Reform synagogue currently located in Bloomfield Township, Michigan. Beth El was founded in 1850 in the city of Detroit, and is the oldest Jewish congregation in Michigan....

, and the building was sold to the Lighthouse Tabernacle, becoming known as the Lighthouse Cathedral. It is now owned by Little Rock Baptists Church and is used as a community center , it was occupied by the Citadel of Faith Covenant Church.
As of June of 2010, the church is being occupied by The Community Church of Christ, under the leadership of Pastor R.A. Cranford.

External links

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