{"nrhp_refnum":"11000995","name":"Temple B'Nai Israel","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"127 S. Barry St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Olean","county":"Cattaraugus County","state":"NY","lat":42.07823703300005,"lon":-78.42728986799995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2012-01-04","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A brick and terra cotta synagogue at 127 South Barry Street in Olean, Cattaraugus County, New York, built in 1929 and designed by architect J. Milton Hurd.","why_significant":"The nomination argues it is a highly intact early twentieth-century synagogue in a small Western New York city, with an eclectic mix of historic and Middle Eastern motifs. Its massive arched portal facade resembles B'nai Jeshurun in Manhattan and Temple Beth-El in Brooklyn. It also served as the spiritual, cultural and social center of Olean's small Jewish community.","narrative":"Temple B'Nai Israel is a synagogue at 127 South Barry Street in Olean, in a residential neighborhood of wood-frame houses near the city's main commercial streets. Completed in 1929 to designs by local architect J. Milton Hurd, it is a light brown brick building with buff terra cotta detail. Its curved false front is dominated by a tall arched portal holding three wood doors and a round leaded-glass window with a Star of David. Inside are a vestibule, a worship space with a balcony, bimah and carved ark, and a basement social hall remodeled in the mid-twentieth century. The building is considered significant for architecture as a highly intact example of an early twentieth-century synagogue, with a design similar to notable New York City synagogues. It also housed Olean's Jewish congregation, which began in the 1880s under H.W. Marcus and met in rented downtown spaces until this building was constructed.","period_of_significance":"1929","architect_builder":"J. Milton Hurd","architectural_style":"Mixed (eclectic synagogue design combining Southern and Eastern European and Middle Eastern motifs)","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Still in use as a synagogue, with the same historic and current function listed.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:50:47.979812-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/11000995.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/11000995/373e10f602-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/11000995/373e10f602-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Pubdog","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Temple_B%27Nai_Israel_Apr_12.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Pubdog</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Temple_B%27Nai_Israel_Apr_12.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75316678","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_B%27Nai_Israel_(Olean,_New_York)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q16901403"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/cattaraugus-county/temple-bnai-israel-11000995/"}