SALT LAKE CITY — It is the oldest synagogue in the state, home to the first permanent Jewish house of worship in Utah. Its completion in 1891 even predates the Salt Lake Temple. The Salt Lake Tribune once remarked that the B’nai Israel Temple had “an air of quiet elegance"
“I’ve wanted this building for a long time,” said Michah Christensen, a Salt Lake resident who recently purchased the historic synagogue for $3 million.
The synagogue is just half a block from the Christensen family business, Anthony’s Fine Art.
“I’ve got some connection to this building,” Christensen shared. “I’m half-Jewish by descent and half-Mormon pioneer by descent and my great grandfather Philip Fitzler was a member of this congregation. So it feels full circle.”
The building hasn't been a synagogue since the 70s and has taken on many lives in the decades since, including a school, office space, and restaurant.
Christensen has more creative plans.
“The goal from the very beginning was to create a museum,” he said excitedly.
Work has already begun on The Salt Lake Art Museum, the city's first new fine art gallery in three decades.
The History of B’nai Israel Temple
“When it was built in 1891 and opened, it was one of the biggest and most ornate buildings in the valley at that time,” explained Christopher Jensen, an architectural historian, and realtor who facilitated and represented Christensen during the building's purchase.
The old synagogue reflected the growing influence of the Jewish community in Utah.
“They (Jewish community) were really favored by the Mormon pioneers as the favored people or the favored gentiles at the time,” Jensen added. “They did a lot of business here in the valley and it really gave them a place to worship, congregate and be a community.”
The synagogue was designed by Berlin architect Philip Meyer who modeled it after the Fasanenstrasse synagogue in Berlin. Meyer was brought into the project by his uncle, Utah magnate Frederick Auerbach.
“[Philip Meyer] ended up going back to Germany and becoming the chief architect for the Prussian state and the imperial household,” Jensen said.
Meyer died in 1943 in a Nazi death camp.
“He, I think, is a big part of this story, of architectural excellence and you see that in the B’nai Israel Temple,” Jensen said. “It’s sort of a hallmark for him and his work.”
The Future of the B’nai Israel Temple
When the building came up for sale, Christensen, whose life has been dedicated to art and Utah arts, jumped at the opportunity to acquire the synagogue.
“When I learned they were planning on building apartments around this building and that the future of this building was uncertain we reached out to Chris Jensen and were able to make an offer and purchase it,” Christensen said.
However, according to Jensen, the building isn’t protected locally.
“It's not a local landmark so it could have been leveled,” Jensen explained. "We purposefully brought buyers in that were going to preserve it and that are going to keep it as much as they can to its original form.
"It’s going to be a wonderful example of what historic preservation can do and what a historic property in the right hands can be for the community. “
Christensen says the purchase and transformation of the old synagogue into an art museum is perfect timing.
“The whole goal is to celebrate Utah art and Utah artists,” he shared. “Utah has more artists per capita than anywhere else in the United States, that's according to the last U.S census. But we have the second-fewest museums of any state, second to West Virginia.”
As the building embarks on its new incarnation, Christensen hopes the space, which opens next year, will become a flourishing community gathering spot as it once was for his very own family.
“I just feel an overall stewardship to the community and to my own family as my great grandfather was a congregant here.”
