{"nrhp_refnum":"07000430","name":"Beth Sholom Synagogue","other_names":["Temple Beth Sholom"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"8231 Old York Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Elkins Park (Cheltenham Township)","county":"Montgomery County","state":"PA","lat":40.081804496000046,"lon":-75.12610959573854,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2007-03-29","is_nhl":true,"nhl_designated_date":"2007-03-29","areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A synagogue building in Elkins Park (Cheltenham Township), Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright for the Beth Sholom Congregation and built between 1954 and 1959. Its main form is a glazed pyramidal tower rising above a reinforced concrete base on a sloping site along Old York Road.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the building is one of Frank Lloyd Wright's most important commissions and his only synagogue, among a small group of religious works. It is described as a benchmark in Wright's career and in mid-twentieth-century architecture. Its design was developed through a close collaboration between Wright and Rabbi Mortimer J. Cohen, whose interpretation of Jewish meaning is treated as central to its significance. The building is also noted for its high degree of integrity, being essentially unchanged since construction.","narrative":"Beth Sholom Synagogue is a glazed pyramidal tower set on a reinforced concrete base in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and built between 1954 and 1959 for the Beth Sholom Congregation. It is Wright's only synagogue and one of very few religious commissions in his career. The congregation had moved from north Philadelphia after the Second World War, and its rabbi, Mortimer J. Cohen, worked closely with Wright on the design, explaining Jewish liturgy and symbolism and proposing the building as a space linked to a tent and a mountain. The design is built on a hexagonal plan, with the arks placed at the eastern point so worshippers face toward Jerusalem. In 1959 the American Institute of Architects and the National Trust for Historic Preservation named it among Wright's most important works to be preserved. The building is regarded as one of the most significant works of his late career and is noted for remaining largely unaltered since completion.","period_of_significance":"1954-1959","architect_builder":"Wright, Frank Lloyd (architect)","architectural_style":"Modern Movement (Wrightian)","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"The building is described as remaining in excellent condition with virtually no alterations since construction.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:29.587086-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/07000430_NHL.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/07000430/9d16c4f38f-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/07000430/9d16c4f38f-1600.webp","licence":"CC0","author":"Smallbones","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:FLW_Beth_Sholom_exterior.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Smallbones</a>, <a href=\"http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/deed.en\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:FLW_Beth_Sholom_exterior.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71994185","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beth_Sholom_Synagogue_(Elkins_Park,_Pennsylvania)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q352679"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/montgomery-county/beth-sholom-synagogue-07000430/"}