Architecture Book DescriptionPublication Date: December 15, 2011
In a suburb just north of Philadelphia stands Beth Sholom Synagogue, Frank Lloyd Wright’s
only synagogue and among his finest religious buildings. Designated a National Historic Landmark in 2007, Beth Sholom was one of Wright’s last completed projects, and for years it has been considered one of his greatest masterpieces.But its full story has never been told. Beth Sholom Synagogue provides the first in-depth look at the synagogue’s conception and realization in relation to Wright’s other religious architecture.
Beginning with his early career at Adler and Sullivan’s
architectural firm in Chicago and his design for Unity Temple and ending with the larger works completed just before or soon after his death, Joseph M. Siry skillfully depicts Wright’s exploration of geometric forms and structural techniques in creating architecture for worshipping communities. Siry also examines Wright’s engagement with his clients, whose priorities stemmed from their denominational identity, and the effect this had on his designs—his client for Beth Sholom, Rabbi Mortimer Cohen, worked with Wright to anchor the building in the traditions of Judaism even as it symbolized the faith’s continuing life in postwar America. With each of his religious projects, Wright considered questions of social history and cultural identity as he advanced his program for an expressive, modern American architecture. His search to combine these agendas culminated in Beth Sholom, where the interplay of light, form, and space create a stunning and inspiring place of worship.
Editorial Reviews
Review
“One of the few authentic scholars in the field of Wright
studies, Joseph Siry has once again made a major contribution to our
understanding of the architect’s ideas and buildings. Set in the context
of Wright’s designs for religious architecture, Siry’s brilliant,
clear, and thoroughly documented monograph is the definitive work on the
magisterial Beth Sholom synagogue. This beautifully written book is
indispensable for our grasp of the architect’s late work.”—Anthony
Alofsin, University of Texas
(Anthony Alofsin, University of Texas )
“The
brilliance of this study of Frank Lloyd Wright’s religious architecture
lies in Siry’s explication of the architect’s intensive early exposure
to the discourses on identity, faith, and its architectural
representation among progressive Jewish and Protestant intellectuals at
the end of the nineteenth century. By embedding detailed descriptive
analyses of Wright’s subsequent religious architecture in an
exhaustively researched social history, Siry significantly deepens our
understanding and appreciation of the buildings.”—Jack Quinan, SUNY,
University at Buffalo
(Jack Quinan, SUNY, University at Buffalo )
“This
monumental study significantly broadens our understanding of Wright’s
work. The importance of Beth Sholom becomes clear through Siry’s richly
detailed, deep analysis that places the building within the context of
Wright’s other designs for religious buildings, their diverse sources,
and the philosophical beliefs that underlie them. Siry sets a high
standard for Wright scholarship.”—David G. De Long, University of
Pennsylvania
(David G. DeLong, University of Pennsylvania )
“Siry’s compelling book is a superb study of Wright and the only
synagogue he designed. Meticulously researched and brilliantly written,
this single volume places Beth Sholom into a broad context that
illuminates the development of twentieth-century American religious
architecture and Wright’s critical place in it. This is the rare work
that blends extraordinary scholarship with a clear narrative. Siry
provides not only telling insights into the working relationship between
the architect and the congregation’s rabbi but also profound analysis
of the role of Reconstructionist Jewish thought on the meaning of the
building.”—Susan G. Solomon, author of Louis I. Kahn’s Jewish Architecture: Mikveh Israel and the Midcentury American Synagogue
(Susan G. Solomon, author of "Louis I. Kahn's Jewish Architecture" )
About the Author
Joseph M. Siry is professor of art history and American studies at Wesleyan University. He is the author of three books: The Chicago Auditorium Building: Adler and Sullivan’s Architecture and the City,
winner of the 2003 Alice Davis Hitchcock Award from the Society of
Architectural Historians for the most outstanding book by a North
American scholar published in 2002, and Carson Pirie Scott: Louis Sullivan and the Chicago Department Store, both published by the University of Chicago Press; and Unity Temple: Frank Lloyd Wright and Architecture for Liberal Religion.
Product Details
- Hardcover: 736 pages
- Publisher: University Of Chicago Press (December 15, 2011)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0226761401
- ISBN-13: 978-0226761404
- Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.5 x 1.7 inches
