Home > Blog > WHC Journal Archive > A Temple’s Legacy
There’s a special significance to the address at 8th and I Streets NW, a place woven deeply into the fabric of Washington Hebrew Congregation’s history. This site, where the congregation purchased its first permanent home in 1863, housed a Methodist Church that had served as a hospital during the Civil War. The building, though initially modest, became a cornerstone of the community. It was dedicated with great fanfare, underwent two renovations, and, as the congregation grew, was eventually deemed too small. In 1897, the building was torn down to make way for a grand new temple, built on the very same site.
The dedication of this new temple on September 9, 1898, was a landmark event. The two-day ceremony was a celebration of faith, resilience, and community. It began with a majestic procession, hymns that filled the air, and speeches that stirred the soul. Senior Rabbi Louis Stern led the Sabbath services, which were followed by the formal presentation of the building by William Hahn, Chairman of the Building Committee, to Isaac Blout, President of the Congregation. After the Torah scrolls were lovingly placed in the ark, a series of speeches echoed the optimism of the era.
The dedication program itself is a window into late 19th-century classical Reform Judaism in America, showcasing the beauty of the English liturgy and the grand hymns sung by the choir. But perhaps the most striking element of that day were the words spoken by the leaders, infused with a palpable sense of hope for the future. At the time, the nation had just celebrated a victory in the Spanish-American War, and American Jews were filled with the belief that they had found a place where they could truly belong and flourish.
Among the speakers was Simon Wolf, a prominent member of the congregation, recognized both locally and nationally. His words captured the spirit of the moment: “It is a glorious sight to see at the close of the century the Jew a recognized factor in the great republic of the West.” Reflecting on the recent injustices in France, particularly the Dreyfus Affair, Wolf expressed his pride in America, declaring that “no such wrong, no such dastardly injustice, could ever be enacted under the American flag.” He celebrated the contributions of American Jews, “scattered in every part of the world by circumstances beyond our control,” yet always enriching the prosperity and honor of the nations they inhabit.
The new temple was nothing short of a masterpiece, an embodiment of both faith and architectural grandeur. Designed in the Moorish style by architects Lewis Strutz and Frank W. Pease, the building stood 90 feet wide and 100 feet deep, its granite, limestone, and brick facade punctuated by two towers crowned with copper domes that reached 135 feet into the sky. A 30-foot-wide Star of David window, adorned with intricate stone tracery, graced the front. The first floor housed classrooms, an assembly hall, a library, and vaults for storing important records. Above, the sanctuary was a marvel of design, with a dome 45 feet in diameter supported by 30 arches and four grand columns. It seated 1,500 worshipers, and the columned ark, made of ivory-colored marble, stood as a testament to the congregation’s devotion. The total cost of the building was $80,000 — a significant sum at the time — including $12,000 earmarked for a magnificent pipe organ.
This temple stood as a beacon of the Jewish community’s growth and resilience, a place where faith, culture, and history converged, creating a legacy that still echoes through Washington Hebrew Congregation today.
William H. “Bill” Davis is the WHC Archivist.
