Sidney Eisenshtat
Encyclopedia
Sidney Eisenshtat was an American architect
who was best known for his synagogues and
Jewish academic buildings.
, and his family later lived in Detroit, Michigan
. The family moved to Los Angeles, California
in 1926, reportedly in search of a less anti-Semitic atmosphere than they perceived in Detroit. He graduated from the University of Southern California
architecture school in 1935. Early in his career he designed large projects for the United States Department of Defense
, tract houses, and retail stores.
It was not until 1951 that he designed his first major religious structure, Temple Emanuel of Beverly Hills, California
. Eight years later he designed the landmark Sinai Temple
on Wilshire Boulevard
in the Westwood
district of Los Angeles
, a building that has been compared to the work of Frank Lloyd Wright
and which is distinguished by its use of stained glass windows.
Eisenshtat said that his concept of synagogue design was based on his perception that, unlike in some religions, "in Judaism there is no intermediary. Therefore, I see the structure for synagogues not as pyramidal but as horizontal." Influenced by other modernist architects, notably Erich Mendelsohn
, Eisenshat was noted for a use of expressive forms in thin shell concrete, white walls, simple materials, and natural light. Two of his most representative and distinguished buildings are set in arid desert environments. At Temple Mount Sinai in El Paso, Texas
(1962) the Ark
is a giant open tripod inside a soaring, tent-like concrete sanctuary; one writer has commented that this building "with its soaring arched shell seems to spring out of the rocky Texas soil" and gives the congregants a view of the mountains "through the high glazed arch behind the Ark." This building is also featured in the book American Synagogues by noted architecture critic Samuel D. Gruber
, and described as "a dramatically sculptural building perfect for its austere setting."
The futuristic
House of the Book, built in the early 1970s as the synagogue for the Brandeis-Bardin Institute
, is set among the Santa Susana Mountains
near Simi Valley, California
, and is used as a filming location for science-fiction and other productions, notably including Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
,
as well as the Command Center for the first few seasons of the American Power Rangers
television show.
Eisenshtat's design for the Hillel
House at the University of Southern California was described as one of his best buildings by USC architecture professor James Steele, who said it was representative of "his personality and his attitude toward Judaism," with a building that is "very open, free, full of light," but surrounded by a "bunker"-like "defensive wall."
Eisenshtat also designed the master plan for the campus of the University of Judaism (now American Jewish University) in Bel-Air, Los Angeles, California
, completed in 1977. His notable secular buildings include the Friars Club
and Union Bank
buildings in Beverly Hills.
An observant Orthodox Jew
, Eisenshtat reportedly did not accept fees for his synagogue projects. He was honored as a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects in 1986. He died in 2005 at age 90. USC's Architectural Guild Press has announced that a monograph about Eisenshtat's work is under production, to be written by USC professor James Steele, and now planned for release in May 2012.
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
who was best known for his synagogues and
Jewish academic buildings.
Biography
Sidney Eisenshtat was born in New Haven, ConnecticutNew Haven, Connecticut
New Haven is the second-largest city in Connecticut and the sixth-largest in New England. According to the 2010 Census, New Haven's population increased by 5.0% between 2000 and 2010, a rate higher than that of the State of Connecticut, and higher than that of the state's five largest cities, and...
, and his family later lived in Detroit, Michigan
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
. The family moved to Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
in 1926, reportedly in search of a less anti-Semitic atmosphere than they perceived in Detroit. He graduated from the University of Southern California
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
architecture school in 1935. Early in his career he designed large projects for the United States Department of Defense
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
, tract houses, and retail stores.
It was not until 1951 that he designed his first major religious structure, Temple Emanuel of Beverly Hills, California
Beverly Hills, California
Beverly Hills is an affluent city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. With a population of 34,109 at the 2010 census, up from 33,784 as of the 2000 census, it is home to numerous Hollywood celebrities. Beverly Hills and the neighboring city of West Hollywood are together...
. Eight years later he designed the landmark Sinai Temple
Sinai Temple (Los Angeles, California)
Sinai Temple in the Westwood district of Los Angeles, California is the oldest and largest Conservative congregation in the greater Los Angeles area. Architect Sidney Eisenshtat designed the current synagogue building, constructed in 1956 and expanded in 1998...
on Wilshire Boulevard
Wilshire Boulevard
Wilshire Boulevard is one of the principal east-west arterial roads in Los Angeles, California, United States. It was named for Henry Gaylord Wilshire , an Ohio native who made and lost fortunes in real estate, farming, and gold mining. Henry Wilshire initiated what was to become Wilshire...
in the Westwood
Westwood, Los Angeles, California
Westwood is a neighborhood on the Westside of Los Angeles, California, United States. It is the home of the University of California, Los Angeles .-History:...
district of Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, a building that has been compared to the work of Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright was an American architect, interior designer, writer and educator, who designed more than 1,000 structures and completed 500 works. Wright believed in designing structures which were in harmony with humanity and its environment, a philosophy he called organic architecture...
and which is distinguished by its use of stained glass windows.
Eisenshtat said that his concept of synagogue design was based on his perception that, unlike in some religions, "in Judaism there is no intermediary. Therefore, I see the structure for synagogues not as pyramidal but as horizontal." Influenced by other modernist architects, notably Erich Mendelsohn
Erich Mendelsohn
Erich Mendelsohn was a Jewish German architect, known for his expressionist architecture in the 1920s, as well as for developing a dynamic functionalism in his projects for department stores and cinemas.-Early life:...
, Eisenshat was noted for a use of expressive forms in thin shell concrete, white walls, simple materials, and natural light. Two of his most representative and distinguished buildings are set in arid desert environments. At Temple Mount Sinai in El Paso, Texas
El Paso, Texas
El Paso, is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States, and lies in far West Texas. In the 2010 census, the city had a population of 649,121. It is the sixth largest city in Texas and the 19th largest city in the United States...
(1962) the Ark
Ark (synagogue)
The Torah ark or ark in a synagogue is known in Hebrew as the Aron Kodesh by the Ashkenazim and as the Hekhál amongst most Sefardim. It is generally a receptacle, or ornamental closet, which contains each synagogue's Torah scrolls...
is a giant open tripod inside a soaring, tent-like concrete sanctuary; one writer has commented that this building "with its soaring arched shell seems to spring out of the rocky Texas soil" and gives the congregants a view of the mountains "through the high glazed arch behind the Ark." This building is also featured in the book American Synagogues by noted architecture critic Samuel D. Gruber
Samuel D. Gruber
for the biologist see Samuel H. GruberSamuel D. Gruber is an American art and architectural historian, and expert and activist in the documentation, protection and preservation of historic Jewish sites and monuments....
, and described as "a dramatically sculptural building perfect for its austere setting."
The futuristic
Futurist architecture
Futurist architecture is an early-20th century form of architecture characterized by anti-historicism and long horizontal lines suggesting speed, motion and urgency. Technology and even violence were among the themes of the Futurists. The movement was founded by the poet Filippo Tommaso...
House of the Book, built in the early 1970s as the synagogue for the Brandeis-Bardin Institute
Brandeis-Bardin Institute
The Brandeis-Bardin Campus of American Jewish University is a Jewish retreat located in Simi Valley, California, USA. Formerly known as the Brandeis-Bardin Institute, it is used for nondenominational summer programs for children, teens and young adults....
, is set among the Santa Susana Mountains
Santa Susana Mountains
The Santa Susana Mountains are a transverse range of mountains in southern California, north of the city of Los Angeles, in the United States. The range runs east-west separating the San Fernando Valley and Simi Valley on its south, from Santa Clara River Valley to the north, and Santa Clarita...
near Simi Valley, California
Simi Valley, California
-2010:The 2010 United States Census reported that Simi Valley had a population of 124,237. The population density was 2,940.8 people per square mile...
, and is used as a filming location for science-fiction and other productions, notably including Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country is the sixth feature film in the Star Trek science fiction franchise and is the last of the Star Trek films to include the entire main cast of the 1960s Star Trek television series. Released in 1991 by Paramount Pictures, it was directed by Nicholas Meyer and...
,
as well as the Command Center for the first few seasons of the American Power Rangers
Power Rangers
Power Rangers is a long-running American entertainment and merchandising franchise built around a live action children's television series featuring teams of costumed heroes...
television show.
Eisenshtat's design for the Hillel
Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life
Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life is the largest Jewish campus organization in the world, working with thousands of college students globally...
House at the University of Southern California was described as one of his best buildings by USC architecture professor James Steele, who said it was representative of "his personality and his attitude toward Judaism," with a building that is "very open, free, full of light," but surrounded by a "bunker"-like "defensive wall."
Eisenshtat also designed the master plan for the campus of the University of Judaism (now American Jewish University) in Bel-Air, Los Angeles, California
Bel-Air, Los Angeles, California
Bel Air is an affluent residential community in the hills of the Westside of the city of Los Angeles, California. Together with Beverly Hills and Holmby Hills it forms the Platinum Triangle of Los Angeles neighborhoods....
, completed in 1977. His notable secular buildings include the Friars Club
Friars Club of Beverly Hills
The Friars Club of Beverly Hills was a private show business club started in 1947 by comedian/actor Milton Berle, among other celebrities who had moved from New York. It was forced to change its name in 2007 after losing a lawsuit with the New York Friars' Club, and later closed...
and Union Bank
Union Bank of California
Union Bank, N.A., formerly known as Union Bank of California, N.A., is a full-service commercial bank providing an array of financial services to individuals, small businesses, middle-market companies, and major corporations...
buildings in Beverly Hills.
An observant Orthodox Jew
Orthodox Judaism
Orthodox Judaism , is the approach to Judaism which adheres to the traditional interpretation and application of the laws and ethics of the Torah as legislated in the Talmudic texts by the Sanhedrin and subsequently developed and applied by the later authorities known as the Gaonim, Rishonim, and...
, Eisenshtat reportedly did not accept fees for his synagogue projects. He was honored as a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects in 1986. He died in 2005 at age 90. USC's Architectural Guild Press has announced that a monograph about Eisenshtat's work is under production, to be written by USC professor James Steele, and now planned for release in May 2012.
Selected Buildings
- Temple Emanuel, Beverly Hills, CaliforniaBeverly Hills, CaliforniaBeverly Hills is an affluent city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. With a population of 34,109 at the 2010 census, up from 33,784 as of the 2000 census, it is home to numerous Hollywood celebrities. Beverly Hills and the neighboring city of West Hollywood are together...
(1951)http://tebh.org - Sinai Temple, Westwood, Los Angeles, CaliforniaWestwood, Los Angeles, CaliforniaWestwood is a neighborhood on the Westside of Los Angeles, California, United States. It is the home of the University of California, Los Angeles .-History:...
(1960)http://sinaitemple.org/ - Friars Club of Beverly HillsFriars Club of Beverly HillsThe Friars Club of Beverly Hills was a private show business club started in 1947 by comedian/actor Milton Berle, among other celebrities who had moved from New York. It was forced to change its name in 2007 after losing a lawsuit with the New York Friars' Club, and later closed...
, Beverly Hills, CaliforniaBeverly Hills, CaliforniaBeverly Hills is an affluent city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. With a population of 34,109 at the 2010 census, up from 33,784 as of the 2000 census, it is home to numerous Hollywood celebrities. Beverly Hills and the neighboring city of West Hollywood are together...
(1961)http://www.webcitation.org/5wTUlkhHmhttp://newmedia.kcrw.com/dna/goodbye-to-another-la-landmark (demolished 2011) - Temple Mount Sinai, El Paso, TexasEl Paso, TexasEl Paso, is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States, and lies in far West Texas. In the 2010 census, the city had a population of 649,121. It is the sixth largest city in Texas and the 19th largest city in the United States...
(1962)http://www.templemountsinai.com/our-home - House of the Book, Brandeis-Bardin InstituteBrandeis-Bardin InstituteThe Brandeis-Bardin Campus of American Jewish University is a Jewish retreat located in Simi Valley, California, USA. Formerly known as the Brandeis-Bardin Institute, it is used for nondenominational summer programs for children, teens and young adults....
, Simi Valley, CaliforniaSimi Valley, California-2010:The 2010 United States Census reported that Simi Valley had a population of 124,237. The population density was 2,940.8 people per square mile...
(c. 1970) - Hillel House, University of Southern CaliforniaUniversity of Southern CaliforniaThe University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
, Los Angeles, CaliforniaLos Angeles, CaliforniaLos Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California... - Knox Presbyterian Church, Los Angeles, CaliforniaLos Angeles, CaliforniaLos Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
http://web.archive.org/web/20060616064835/http://www.knoxpcla.org/index_WhoWeAre.html