{"id":491,"featured":0,"modified":"2026-03-04 21:32:00","latitude":41.5152810000000016543708625249564647674560546875,"longitude":-81.56133799999997791019268333911895751953125,"title":"Park Synagogue, Cleveland Heights","subtitle":"Erich Mendelsohn&#039;s Masterpiece","fullsize":"https://clevelandhistorical.org/files/fullsize/5328f29f8f24ab954f76b83d29f39f38.jpg","address":"3300 Mayfield Rd, Cleveland Heights, OH 44118","zoom":15,"creator":["Jim Lanese","Ken Goldberg"],"description":"In 1917, Anshe Emeth—an Orthodox congregation founded by Polish Jews near Woodland and Broadway Avenues (and later located on East 37th Street)—merged with congregation Beth Tefilo and bought land on East 105th Street in Glenville. Spearheaded by Rabbi Samuel Benjamin, the resultant building (completed in 1922) become one of the first US synagogues to adopt the Jewish Center mode: comprehensive services which (in the case of the Glenville structure) comprised an auditorium, swimming pool, and basketball and handball courts; as well as worship, study, education, library and administrative spaces. The congregation also sponsored lectures, social functions and entertainment; provided space for clubs; housed a branch of the Cleveland Hebrew Schools; and offered Americanization classes. <br />\r\n<br />\r\nLed by Rabbi Solomon Goldman, the congregation changed from Orthodox to Conservative about the time of its move to Glenville. Within 20 years, Anshe Emeth Beth Tefilo’s membership reached 920 families, making it the largest congregation affiliated with the United Synagogue of America. Armond Cohen became the congregation&#039;s rabbi in 1934. <br />\r\n<br />\r\nBy 1942, members were migrating en masse to the suburbs—primarily Cleveland Heights—so the congregation sought to establish an eastern branch on the property of the Park School, a huge piece of land situated between Euclid Heights Boulevard and Mayfield Road, just east of Ivydale Road. At the time, the property contained only a few frame structures. A great new complex was envisioned and, in November 1945, a building campaign was launched at a dinner in the Carter Hotel. <br />\r\n<br />\r\nRabbi Cohen was already familiar with the work of Erich Mendelsohn, an architect working in New York and then San Francisco. Together with his family, the architect had escaped Nazi Germany, moving to England and Palestine. Mendelsohn had had an illustrious career in Europe. Among his most admired creations were the De la Warr Pavilion in Bexhill, England; Expressionist-style department stores in several German cities; and the Einstein Tower in Potsdam, Germany.<br />\r\n<br />\r\nRabbi Cohen was instrumental in bringing Mendelsohn to Cleveland. During his first visit, Mendelsohn sketched his ideas on a blackboard and immediately won the synagogue building committee’s approval to move ahead. The new Park Synagogue would be one of the architect’s first American synagogue commissions, although he would go on to design several others. In all, four were constructed, all in the Midwest. During the course of synagogue planning, the architect also remodeled much of the interior of Rabbi Cohen’s own home on Euclid Heights Boulevard, to conform with International Style principles. Dedication activities for the as-yet-unfinished project were held in December, 1950. Building activity for the original structure was completed by 1953.<br />\r\n<br />\r\nThe complex’s centerpiece is its vast hemispheric temple dome: 125 feet high, 120 feet in diameter and weighing 680 tons. Reputed to be the third largest in the world at the time of construction, the dome required 180,000 feet of lumber and took eleven weeks to assemble. Its outer layer is pre-formed copper, designed to blend through natural oxidation with the surrounding landscape. <br />\r\n<br />\r\nBeneath the dome, the main sanctuary is connected to a fan-shaped assembly hall with folding doors, so that the size can be almost doubled for attendance on High Holy Days. Lighting effects were designed at Nela Park. Mendelsohn also insisted that only clear glass should be used—absolutely no stained glass. <br />\r\n<br />\r\nBy the mid-1960s, more space was needed. Large donations culminated in the Kangesser wing, dedicated in March 1968, which added an art gallery, another assembly hall with a large auxiliary space for events such as weddings, and numerous smaller rooms. The new wing connects to the main building via an enclosed bridge over a ravine. Around the same time that the Kangesser construction took place, land in Pepper Pike was donated to the congregation for a future educational facility.<br />\r\n<br />\r\nShortly after Park’s dedication in 1950, one critic referred to the synagogue as “the outstanding example of modern Hebrew architecture in America . . . the forerunner of a modern, functional synagogue design.” A curator of the Jewish Museum in New York wrote: “I regard Park Synagogue as the most significant structure of its kind in our generation.” The Cleveland Heights facility is now referred to as Park Main, as the congregation built and maintains a second facility in Pepper Pike.","sponsor":null,"accessinfo":"","lede":null,"website":"<a href=\"https://www.parksynagogue.org\">www.parksynagogue.org</a>","related_resources":["Goldberg, Ken. \"Architect Who Fled Nazis Created a Masterpiece in  Cleveland Heights,\" <em>View from the Overlook</em>, no. 3 (Spring 2004), <a href=\"http://chhistory.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Issue-3.pdf\">chhistory.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Issue-3.pdf</a>.","Leedy, Walter C. <em>Eric Mendelsohn's Park Synagogue: Architecture and Community.</em> Kent, OH: Kent State University Press, 2012.","\"Park Synagogue.\" <em>Encyclopedia of Cleveland History</em>. <a href=\"https://case.edu/ech/articles/p/park-synagogue\">case.edu/ech/articles/p/park-synagogue</a>","Stephan, Regina, ed. <span>Eric Mendelsohn: Architect, 1887-1953. New York: Monacelli Press, 1999.</span>"],"factoids":[],"files":{"https://clevelandhistorical.org/files/fullsize/5328f29f8f24ab954f76b83d29f39f38.jpg":{"id":4676,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Park Synagogue, Cleveland Heights","description":"The building in the foreground contains classrooms. Mendelsohn designed the sanctuary with expandable space and a courtyard to accommodate a variety of uses.  | CSU Center for Public History + Digital Humanities","thumbnail":"https://clevelandhistorical.org/files/square_thumbnails/5328f29f8f24ab954f76b83d29f39f38.jpg"},"https://clevelandhistorical.org/files/fullsize/5b36498d89622bec415613c1b8a08fd9.jpg":{"id":4974,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Sanctuary Construction, 1949","description":"The dome of the temple is pictured under construction in 1949. The concrete dome was topped with copper to complete the sanctuary. | Cleveland Memory Project, Cleveland State University  Library Special Collections","thumbnail":"https://clevelandhistorical.org/files/square_thumbnails/5b36498d89622bec415613c1b8a08fd9.jpg"},"https://clevelandhistorical.org/files/fullsize/7ecf384dcb33b48f08957ef8e3c4daca.jpg":{"id":4730,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Aerial View of Park Grounds, 1952","description":"The buildings at left are the Park School facilities. The congregation bought the land to relocate its synagogue in 1942. Mendelsohn&#039;s building included the sanctuary, courtyard, and classrooms to the right. | Cleveland Memory Project, Cleveland State University  Library Special Collections","thumbnail":"https://clevelandhistorical.org/files/square_thumbnails/7ecf384dcb33b48f08957ef8e3c4daca.jpg"},"https://clevelandhistorical.org/files/fullsize/a33d089042048e991d9583a77f25e759.jpg":{"id":4731,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"The Glass Hall","description":"Descending to the lower chapel, Mendelsohn&#039;s use of large windows is evident. | Cleveland Memory Project, Cleveland State University  Library Special Collections","thumbnail":"https://clevelandhistorical.org/files/square_thumbnails/a33d089042048e991d9583a77f25e759.jpg"},"https://clevelandhistorical.org/files/fullsize/c2cf6b804f1e0e2f6a98fbef6aed1ab5.jpg":{"id":4732,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"The Prophet","description":"In 1953, Rabbi Armond Cohen accepted the painting by the late artist Siivini Garber of Edgehill Road. He was an artist who operated a bookshop at East 55th Street and Woodland Avenue. His work was popular in the Soviet Union and the United States. <br />\r\n | Cleveland Memory Project, Cleveland State University  Library Special Collections","thumbnail":"https://clevelandhistorical.org/files/square_thumbnails/c2cf6b804f1e0e2f6a98fbef6aed1ab5.jpg"},"https://clevelandhistorical.org/files/fullsize/8a6792c9c78719492aaa2f677142c7bc.jpg":{"id":4733,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Park Synagogue, Glenville","description":"The congregation resided in Cleveland&#039;s Glenville neighborhood between 1920 and 1942. The Jewish Center on East 105 Street served as the congregation&#039;s original temple. It is now home to Cory United Methodist Church. | Cleveland Memory Project, Cleveland State University  Library Special Collections","thumbnail":"https://clevelandhistorical.org/files/square_thumbnails/8a6792c9c78719492aaa2f677142c7bc.jpg"},"https://clevelandhistorical.org/files/fullsize/878e42ef20a6ea97c994944af9473591.jpg":{"id":4724,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Park Synagogue","description":"Architect Erich Mendelsohn designed the main and lower sanctuaries seen as the domed space and the windowed space in this photo. The dome is reinforced concrete covered with a copper roof. Clear glass windows surround the drum at eye level to enable outdoor imagery. | Cleveland Memory Project, Cleveland State University  Library Special Collections","thumbnail":"https://clevelandhistorical.org/files/square_thumbnails/878e42ef20a6ea97c994944af9473591.jpg"},"https://clevelandhistorical.org/files/fullsize/c2304878cc57449e52b357b7f6aa6ce1.jpg":{"id":4729,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Main Sanctuary at Park Synagogue","description":"The interior of the main sanctuary is free of ornamentation and features smooth plywood surfaces with focus upon the decor around the bemah; rich color and symbolic patterns prevail. | Cleveland Memory Project, Cleveland State University  Library Special Collections","thumbnail":"https://clevelandhistorical.org/files/square_thumbnails/c2304878cc57449e52b357b7f6aa6ce1.jpg"},"https://clevelandhistorical.org/files/original/2d63df9df50b7c0253740f8234f2056c.mp3":{"id":4709,"mime-type":"audio/mpeg","title":"Eric Mendelsohn Proposes Park&#039;s Design","description":"Ellen Petler describes the meeting with Rabbi Cohen and the congregation board to sketch his design. | Cleveland Regional Oral History Collection"},"https://clevelandhistorical.org/files/original/08fa1078c2beeec2d78c1042a8249273.mp3":{"id":4710,"mime-type":"audio/mpeg","title":"Additional Facilities at Park Main","description":"Ellen Petler describes additions made to the Park Main complex during the 1960s. She includes a discussion about a unique bridge that features moveable glass. | Cleveland Regional Oral History Collection"},"https://clevelandhistorical.org/files/original/5c800c59611ed1ea4ef3037cbd055335.mp3":{"id":4711,"mime-type":"audio/mpeg","title":"Main Sanctuary","description":"Ellen Petler describes the features of the main sanctuary. | Cleveland Regional Oral History Collection"}}}