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Address: 3400 Dupont Avenue South
Neighborhood: Carag
Construction Date: 1927
Contractor: Unknown
Architect: Liebenberg and Kaplan
Architectural Style: Classical Revival
Historic Use: Religious - synagogue
Current Use: Religious - church
Date of Local Designation: 1998
Date of National Register Designation: N/A
Area(s) of Significance: Cultural history; Ethnic identity
Period of Significance: 1927-
Historic Profile: The first Orthodox synagogue in Minneapolis, Adath Jeshurun, was founded in 1884 by several merchants of Eastern European origin. In 1926 the congregation moved to its location on 34 th Street and Dupont Avenue South into a neo-classical synagogue designed by architects Liebenberg and Kaplan (also responsible for Temple Israel and Beth El). At a cost of $200,000, the facility included a dining hall, gymnasium, classrooms, library, and a theater seating 700. The imposing entryway is highlighted by four colossal Corinthian columns with the words "Hear O Israel: The Lord Our Savior is One," inscribed above. Between 1930 and 1946 the congregation grew from 85 families to 403 families. The growth was largely due to the influence of Rabbi Albert I. Gordon who fiercely opposed the anti-Semitic hate groups prominent in Minneapolis during that period. The Adath Jeshurun congregation remained at 34 th and Dupont until 1993 when the First Universalist Church acquired the space.
Photo Credits:
1930, Lee Brothers, courtesy of The Minnesota Historical Society
2006, Minneapolis CPED
Works Cited:
Landscape Research, "City of Minneapolis Heritage Preservation Registration Form," May 1996.