Wilshire Boulevard Temple

Wilshire Boulevard Temple. . , City's Oldest Jewish Community , Along the grandest concourse of religious architecture found in Los Angeles, Wilshire Boulevard Temple is the sole example to be honored with a listing on the National Register of Historic Places. The temple was dedicated in 1929 as the third home of Congregation B'nai B'rith. The city's oldest Jewish community formed downtown in 1862, when Abraham Lincoln was president of the United States, and built its first synagogue in 1873 on Broadway near 2nd Street. The reform congregation moved to Ninth and Hope streets in 1896. In the 1920s members embraced the westward migration of civic life that saw the construction of ambitious, architecturally significant houses of worship throughout the new Wilshire District. , Architects David Allison, Abraham Edelman and S. Tilden Norton gave the congregation a home they could be proud of. Allison was Los Angeles' most celebrated church architect of the era, the designer of First Congregational Church at Lafayette Park, Wilshire United Methodist near Hancock Park and of some of the original buildings on the UCLA campus in Westwood. Wilshire Boulevard Temple became instantly recognizable because of the Byzantine-inspired dome, visible for miles when the cityscape was less crowded than today. Solid doors opening onto the boulevard steps, ascended through the years by numerous famous people, are of East Indian teakwood. Inside, stained glass windows from the Judson Studios bathe the octagonal sanctuary in softlight. Gilded surfaces, Italian and Belgian marble and finishes of carved mahogany and walnut add richness. The temple's most admired feature is the 100-foot-high mosaic-inlaid dome and, circling its base, a series of stunning murals that depict the history of the Jewish people from biblical times forward. Renowned muralist Hugo Ballin painted the scenes. , Including such artwork inside a synagogue was a departure and somewhat controversial, but Wilshire Boulevard Temple's longtime rabbi, Edgar F. Magnin, felt the warmth and mysticism would enhance the spiritual experience. Magnin joined the congregation as assistant rabbi in 1915 and was still active when he died in 1984. During his life Magnin used the pulpit, his radio program, and newspaper columns to fight against anti-Semitism and to help Jews be accepted in Los Angeles’ strongly Protestant society. Magnin participated in the inauguration ceremonies for Presidents Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan and spoke at numerous banquets honoring his close friend Bob Hope. , Rabbi to the Stars , Under Rabbi Magnin, Wilshire Boulevard Temple was for several decades the largest Jewish congregation in the western US. It became known as the synagogue where Hollywood celebrities got married, had funerals, or celebrated their children's bar mitzvahs. Magnin didn't object to being called rabbi to the stars. Louis B. Mayer of MGM was a prominent leader of the temple, and at the 1929 dedication studio chief Jack Warner presented the biblical murals on behalf of Harry and Abe, the other Warner brothers. Magnin officiated at the marriage of actress Norma Shearer and movie tycoon Irving Thalberg, and presided at the funerals of Eddie Cantor, Jack Benny, and George Jessel. Magnin was a fixture among the comedians such as the Marx Brothers who lunched at the Hillcrest Country Club, formed by Jewish leaders at a time when they would not be admitted to other influential Los Angeles clubs. When Magnin died of natural causes at his home in Beverly Hills, the regulars at Hillcrest provided heart-felt if informal eulogies. "He was a wonderful man and a good golfer," quipped Milton Berle. "I knew Edgar well, but I never danced with him," said George Burns. , Rabbi Magnin was assisted by an equally remarkable rabbi named Alfred Wolf. Escaping the pending Holocaust in Germany, Rabbi Wolf came to Southern California. During his more than 50 years at Wilshire Boulevard Temple Wolf became a leader in the crucial work of inter-religious dialogue. His greatest vision became realized when he founded the Wilshire Boulevard Temple camps in Malibu which are owned and operated by the congregation to the present day.