CLARIFYING WHAT WE PERSONALLY STAND FOR is a vital part of the High Holy Day season. Part of our answering that call can come from being a member of Mishkon. And part of what membership means is that together we wear the mantle of our local predecessors.
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| Ocean Front Walk, 1927 (courtesy of westland.net/venicehistory) |
Temple Mishkon Tephilo is both a product and a symbol of the longstanding Jewish presence in Venice and Ocean Park. So it seems timely for me to briefly recap some highlights of that local history.
Mishkon, the oldest active synagogue on the Westside, was founded in 1914 by predominantly working class and Eastern European immigrants. They had moved to this area to take advantage of the unusual economic opportunity and tolerance of diversity that developed around Ocean Park (starting in 1895) and Abbott Kinney’s “Venice of America” (which opened in 1905). Jewish workers, small-scale merchants, and entrepreneurs of modest means were key operators of, and purveyors to, the area’s vaunted vaudeville theaters, hotels, theme restaurants, dance halls, carnival attractions, roller coasters, and gondola and camel rides. Kosher food vendors were prominent, too. Jewish life west of Boyle Heights became centered in and around Ocean Park and Venice, in part by default—due to restrictive real estate covenants that, until the 1950s, barred Jews from buying houses on most of the Westside.
Ours was not the first synagogue to be founded in the vicinity, but it has been the most enduring. Near the beginning, for a brief while, we met on Fraser Pier at Ocean Park. Then in 1916, we purchased the lot at 201 Washington Boulevard (later renamed Hampton Drive)—where our school and office building now stands—and promptly constructed our first sanctuary there.
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| Sisterhood members in front of the wooden pews in our first sanctuary (1916–1948) (As usual, click/tap on a photo to enlarge it.) |
However, due to the local Jewish community’s rapid growth, we outgrew that space. So in 1939 we purchased the two vacant adjoining lots; and in 1941 we undertook to build a new 700-seat hall. Construction had to pause during World War II, yet eventually we were able to hold an enthusiastic dedication ceremony, now 74 years ago—on September 26, 1948.
Architecturally, our new sanctuary building reflected our congregation’s origins in a working-class immigrant community. For the synagogue leaders who planned that building, the predominantly Classical Revival style of its façade resonated with the ideals of freedom and democracy so valued by American Jews. It also echoed the form of newly discovered ancient synagogues in the land of Israel, where a Jewish state was then in formation.
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| The architect’s early rendering of our second sanctuary’s façade |
Although those planners made the bold choice to face the entrance onto Main Street, they also wanted our building to fit in with its surroundings. Its height blends in with nearby structures; and it is modestly set back from the street.
Our building was designed to be welcoming and easily accessible to pedestrians, because most of our members lived in the neighborhood and walked to synagogue on the Sabbath and holidays. (We formally transitioned from Orthodox to Conservative Judaism in 1952.) The sanctuary interior meanwhile expressed an aesthetic sense that strove to combine elements that were both traditional (e.g., the central Decalogue frieze) and modern (e.g., theater seating). The materials used in construction reflected obviously limited financial resources, as well as postwar material shortages.
In conclusion, Temple Mishkon Tephilo has long been an integral part of the Venice and Ocean Park communities. With a dignified presence on Main Street that is also modest, we remain a local anchor. Although Mishkon members currently live all over the Los Angeles area and beyond, our sustained existence as a congregation is a testament to the Jews who arrived in Venice and Ocean Park during the early decades of the twentieth century.
Membership at Mishkon Tephilo reflects aspirations and continues traditions that were begun more than a century ago. Perhaps that is why, in 2002, Mishkon leaders made a commitment to preserve the historic elements of its temple building—such as the original wall tiles, the stained-glass windows, and the mural work that is still largely hidden. (On the basis of that commitment, we were awarded a planning grant that produced the Historic Structure Report that served as the main source for this article. It is a gift that keeps on giving.)
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