Masonry Magazine June 1974 Page. 7
The chambered, abstract configuration of design and curves and angles of the walls help the visitor make the transition from the hustle and bustle of downtown Boston to a place of quiet religious contemplation. The temple is formed of fluted masonry block that makes it both distinctive and yet compatible to the neighboring apartment towers.
Charles River Park Synagogue
Boston, Massachusetts
General Contractor: Poley Abrams
Structural Engineer: Thomas Rona
Mechanical Engineer: Samuel Ussia
Mason Contractor: Pizzotti Brothers, Inc. (МСАА)
Block Manufacturer: Plasticrete Corp.
Photography: Ralph Hutchins
The new Charles River Park Synagogue at 55 Martha Road in downtown Boston is surrounded by towering apartment blocks. This contemporary synagogue is by plan and design a living memorial to another vanished synagogue and the congregation it once served. Both were victims of a low low point in the history of urban renewal in the United States the leveling of Boston's West End.
Once a thriving working-class community which combined a variety of religious and ethnic backgrounds, the West End was flattened in the late '50's. What rose in its place was primarily Charles River Park, a complex of 16-22-story apartment houses with rentals in the medium to upper income range.
The synagogue, like a David amid brick Goliaths, is a compact and self-assured structure that is meant to be viewed from above as well as at eye level. But it took a Massachusetts Superior Court landmark decision to help put the building where it now stands. Its architects, Childs Bertman Tseckares Associates, Inc. of Boston, coordinated the architecture and landscaping to convey a sense of religious presence and identity. That's what the congregation was awarded more than $300,000 to regain.
In 1958, the city of Boston had claimed by eminent domain the land and building on North Russell Streeet occupied for 65 years by the orthodox Jewish Congregation Beth Hamidrash Hagodol Beth Jacob. Originally a fusion of the two smaller congregations in the West End, it was generally known as the North Russell Street Shul and had more than 1,500 members at one point.
The synagogue itself was a classically inspired stone structure that had earlier been a church. Inside, it was richly detailed with dark woods and glittering chandeliers. But it too was leveled, along with less distinguished edifices.