Temple Beth Israel

Beth Israel, organized in 1858, is Portland’s oldest Jewish congregation.  The members worshipped above commercial space on Front Street before moving to this synagogue on Southwest Fifth and Oak in 1861. 

When Congregation Beth Israel built its synagogue, Portland was also home to a number of other religious groups, including Roman Catholics, Methodists, Episcopalians, Baptists, Congregationalists, and Presbyterians.  Both Jewish and Protestant groups encouraged personal scriptural study, which required literacy and several religious groups had a vested interest in an educated populace.

In 1888, Beth Israel moved to larger quarters at Southwest Tenth and Main streets, where the auditorium accommodated 750 people.  A prosperous congregation supported the building of a new synagogue, graced with a Spanish cedar and maplewood organ and elaborate stained glass.  This 1888 building was destroyed by fire in 1923.  When its replacement was finished at Northwest Nineteenth and Flanders in 1928, rabbis from across the nation attended its dedication.

Written by Trudy Flores, Sarah Griffith, © Oregon Historical Society, 2002.