See the U.S.A.

Posted on by

1

From the Lampert Library

A popular commercial in the 1950s, sung by Dinah Shore on her long running TV show, urges people to “See the U.S.A. in your Chevrolet, America is asking you to call.”  While most of us are probably NOT driving Chevrolets, we might be on the road.

national-park-serviceThe year 2016 marks the one hundred birthday of the National Park Service. Established August 25, 1916, the goal was to unify the administration of  parks, monuments, and other sites overseen by the Department of the Interior. Since the consolidation  100 years ago, the National Park Service has broadened its outlook and now includes natural sites, architectural gems, and cultural venues.

The National Park Service recognizes the contribution of Jews to America’s story and has many sites on the National Register of Historic Places. The Tenement Museum in New York City is one well known structure.

There are many lesser known historic places that added to America’s story. If you take a road trip-in your Chevrolet or not- you might take a side trip to one of these places.

parks 1Temple Ohave Israel in Brownsville, Pennsylvania is no longer used as a synagogue. However, its history and architecture reflect much of the history of small town Jewish life. Brownsville is about 40 miles south of Pittsburgh, on the Monongahela River (remember that name form American history?).Its river location was ideal for those going West to Ohio and the Northwest Territory. The town became   an industrial and transportation center and was larger than Pittsburgh until the mid 1800s.  Though the Jewish community was not large-at its peak about 1000 people- it was influential in the town. The synagogue was built in 1919, reached its heyday in the early 20th century and by 1945 was in decline.  In 1979 it  was sold when the Jewish community was no longer viable. The descriptive application for historic status makes fascinating reading for those interested in history.

parks2Head for the Virgin Islands where the St. Thomas Synagogue in Charlotte Amalie is well worth seeing. The current building dates from 1833 and occupies the same site as the original 1792 building. In fact, it is the fourth synagogue on the same site. A unique feature of this synagogue is the sand-covered floor. The Jewish population declined during the latter part of the 19th century but began increasing again after World War II. If you’ve read Alice Hoffman’s The Marriage of Opposites, about the life of Rachel Pizarro and her son Camille Pissarro, father of impressionism, this is a great place to visit.

parksbethsholom6Frank Lloyd Wright designed only one synagogue and only one non-Christian religious building, Beth Shalom Synagogue in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania. Mortimer Cohen, rabbi of the synagogue, approached the famous architect of the Guggenheim Museum who agreed to design the building. However Cohen had a great deal of input, explaining Jewish symbols and religious needs to Wright. Cohen stated that he “ would like to see the covering, in stylized form of course, represent the hands of the ancient priests, outstretched in blessing…My thought is this: Imagine two hands together in prayer. Then, pivoting them on the thumb and first (index) fingers, revolve them up until both hands are in one plane. This will give you the triangular effect of the present covering.” Beth Shalom is a landmark Wright building, ranking among his greatest accomplishments, as a designer of great mid century buildings.

A trip to Montville, Connecticut (not far from New London) brings you to The New England Hebrew Farms of the Emanuel Society Synagogue and Creamy. While the buildings not longer stand, this site is significant as one of the communities funded by the Baron de Hirsch Fund, founded in 1891, whose goal was to resettle Russian Jewish immigrants on farming communities.

parksbrandeis4The Louis Brandeis House in Chatham on Cape Cod in Massachusetts was the retreat for Louis Brandeis, the first Jewish Supreme Court justice, and his wife. Appointed to the Supreme Court a century ago, Brandeis first visited Chatham in 1922 and spent every summer there until his death.

Other sites worth visiting are Mill House in Orange County, New York; the Albert Einstein House in Princeton, New Jersey; the Touro Synagogue in Newport Rhode Island; the Lower East Side Tenement Museum in New York City and the Park Circle Historic District of Baltimore, the home of much of Baltimore’s growing Jewish community from the early 20th century to the 1960s.

There are scores of other Jewish related historic sites throughout the country, farther from home.

So take to the road-gas is cheap- and see some of this country’s fascinating sites.

Latest posts by Aileen Grossberg (see all)

One thought on “See the U.S.A.”

  1. Thanks for enlightening us about the wide variety of places to visit that I would not normally think of as part of the National Parks. And I don’t even need bug spray or hiking boots. Nor do I have to worry about bears.

What do you think?