Henry Hornbostel/Rodef Shalom Temple

Henry Hornbostel/Rodef Shalom Temple. . , Henry Hornbostel (1867-1961), Born in Brooklyn, New York and educated at Columbia University and the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, Henry Hornbostel was a "lovable, unpredictable, flamboyant" architect of international renown. Fascinated with new materials and engineering techniques, he created an extraordinary ornamental language inspired by Classicism., In 1904 Hornbostel won the competition to design the original campus plan for the Carnegie Technical Schools (Carnegie Mellon University). As the founder and head of the University's School of Architecture, he inspired hundreds of future architects. From 1904 until 1939 he designed more than 110 buildings and monuments in the Pittsburgh area, and helped the wealthy, smoky, unkempt city evolve into a more elegant place., Hornbostel designed, or collaborated on the design of, more than 220 buildings, bridges, and monuments nationwide. His brilliance, however, is especially evident in the Pittsburgh area., (Captions):, Hamerschlag Hall , 1906-08; 1910-13 , Carnegie Mellon University , Oakland, Soldiers' and Sailors' National Military Museum and Memorial , 1907-10 , 4141 Fifth Avenue, Oakland, City-County Building, 1914-17 , 414 Grant Street, Downtown, Westinghouse Memorial, 1930, , Schenley Park, Rodef Shalom Temple, Hornbostel's design for Rodef Shalom - a magnificent domed auditorium, massive roof, and imposing entrance gable - gives an impressive feeling of shelter and permanence. Judaic symbols are molded in terra cotta: a menorah is centered over the main doorway; blank tablets suggesting the Ten Commandments are above the entrance arch; and Stars of David are incorporated in the terra-cotta work at the rooftop. The terra cotta, glazed in cream, green and pink, is one of the first uses of polychrome terra cotta in the United States., (Captions):, Hornbostel designed a quietly sumptuous interior of mahogany and gilt, focused on an Ark framed by four stout Ionic columns. The branches of the chandeliers are formed as menorahs. The stained glass in the sanctuary was designed by William Willet. The octagonal skylight of the interior Guastavino dome is framed by light bulbs., The chamfered corner softens the edge of the building and creates a transition between the mass of the wall and the hip roof., The menorah, molded out of terra cotta (baked clay), is electrified and can be lit., Rodef Shalom, a Reform congregation, is the oldest extant Jewish congregation in Pittsburgh, chartered in 1854. The temple was completed in 1907.