Name/Title
90 Hasell Street (Synagogue of Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim / KKBE)Entry/Object ID
HASELL.090.1Scope and Content
Constructed 1840-41. Cyrus Warner, draftsman-architect; David Lopez, contractor. A newspaper account in 1792 described the first synagogue on this site, as a steepled, meetinghouse style building. This structure became the first permanent house of worship for a Sephardic community that had established its congregation by 1749. The fire of 1838 consumed this building with the rest of Ansonborough, and the congregation began the planning for a new building on the same site, behind the surviving wrought-iron fence. Various architects and builders, including Charles Reichardt, James Curtis, David Lopez, and Frederick Wesner, submitted plans, and it is unclear which design was selected and sent to Cyrus Warner in New York to be formally drawn. Surviving specifications indicate the high quality of materials, including the use of marble portico tiles, various details of blue granite, and the brick and stuccoed columns. The building as finished has a Greek Doric portico with fluted columns and, on the interior, a coffered dome set into a vaulted ceiling. The mahogany ark sits within a Corinthian-columned canopy, surmounted by scrollwork and a central anthemion framing a pair of gilded tablets. The Reformed Society of Israelites was founded by some members in 1824 and later merged with the old congregation, causing a change in Sephardic ritual to a shorter English service. The rebuilding after the fire and the installation of an organ in the back gallery caused the departure of Conservative and Orthodox members of the congregation, most of whom were immigrants from central and eastern Europe. Next door to the synagogue is the circa 1797 Anthony Toomer House at 86 Hasell Street. This 3-story brick dwelling with belt courses and banded and corbeled chimneys, has been reused by the congregation an annex. (Poston, Buildings of Charleston.)
File contains building history from Architectural Guide to Charleston (by Simons & Thomas); article entitled "The 1794 Synagogue of Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim, Charleston, SC: Reconstructed and Reconsidered" by Daniel Kurt Ackerman (2007); KKBE brochure "The Story of K.K. Beth Elohim"; KKBE brochure "Pocket Guide to Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim and Charleston Jewish History"; newspaper article; photocopy of drawing of early (steepled) synagogue (source not indicated); report entitled "Exterior Restoration of the Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim" by Glenn Keyes Architects (2002).Collection
Historic Charleston Foundation Property RecordsAcquisition
Accession
HASELL.090.Source or Donor
90 Hasell Street (Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim / KKBE)Acquisition Method
Collected by StaffLexicon
LOC Thesaurus for Graphic Materials
SynagoguesSearch Terms
Hasell Street, Ansonborough, Churches/Synagogues/Houses of Worship, Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim (Charleston, S.C.)Archive Details
Archive Size/Extent
1 File FolderArchive Notes
Finding Aids: Index to Property Files
Level of Description: FolderLocation
Location
Shelf
Property File ShelvesRoom
Margaretta P. Childs ArchivesBuilding
Missroon HouseCategory
PermanentDate
February 7, 2023Location
Container
PF Box 46Shelf
Prop File Shelves, Property File ShelvesRoom
Margaretta P. Childs ArchivesBuilding
Missroon HouseCategory
PermanentRelationships
Related Entries
Notes
2006.010.262-276, 2018.003.6, HASELL.090.2, HASELL.090.3, HASELL.090.4, HASELL.090.5Related Publications
Notes
Buildings of Charleston (see Abstract), pg. 450General Notes
Note
Notes: Photo in record from Bayless Collection.Created By
admin@catalogit.appCreate Date
July 17, 2008Updated By
admin@catalogit.appUpdate Date
February 16, 2023