Temple Israel Long Beach

The renovation goals of Temple Israel were to modernize a 1940s structure that has not been touched since a 1960s school addition was added to the southern edge of the site. The building was kept intact for budget reasons, as a result many parts of the building, from the social hall to the second floor classrooms, from the restrooms to Alban hall, are essentially kept in the exact same place. Even the main sanctuary is essentially housed in the same four walls and roof that it is today. Yet the building is transformed by improving the flow and by bringing in new materials with rich symbolism. We have also made great effort to honor the past by saving many important artifacts from this building, such as some of the stain glass windows, some of the collections of Judaic artifacts, the sculpture from the main lobby, and the many Yotzheit and donor plaques found in the lobby. The original building lacked a social heart. The sanctuary is the spiritual heart, but this space feels isolated from the rest of the facility. Temple Israel is also about learning, but there is no clarity that study is an important part of this facility. ...