Bonstelle Theatre

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Temple Beth-El
Temple Beth-El Bonstelle Theater.jpg
Location 3424 Woodward Avenue
Detroit, Michigan
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Built 1902
Architect Albert Kahn; C. Howard Crane
Architectural style Beaux-Arts
Part of Midtown Woodward Historic District (#08001106)
MPS Religious Structures of Woodward Ave. TR
NRHP Reference # 82002911[1]
Significant dates
Added to NRHP August 3, 1982
Designated CP November 26, 2008

The Bonstelle Theatre is a theater operated by Wayne State University, and located at 3424 Woodward Avenue (the southeast corner of Woodward and Eliot) in the Midtown Woodward Historic District of Detroit, Michigan.[2] It was originally built in 1902 as the Temple Beth-El, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.[1]

Construction

When Rabbi Leo M. Franklin first began leading services at Detroit's Temple Beth El in 1899, he felt that the construction of a new temple building on Detroit's "Piety Row" stretch of Woodward would increase the visibility and prestige of Detroit's Jewish community.[2] Accordingly, in October 1900, the congregation held a special meeting at which it was decided to build a new temple.[3] A site for the new temple was purchased in April of the next year, and Albert Kahn, a member of the congregation, was hired to design the building.[3] Groundbreaking began on November 25, 1901, with the ceremonial cornerstone laid on April 23, 1902.[3] The first services were held in the chapel on January 24, 1903, and the formal dedication was held on September 18–19 of the same year.[3]

Building

The temple is a Beaux-Arts structure influenced primarily by Roman and Greek temples. Sobocinski cites the Pantheon in Rome for comparison. There is a prominent dome over the main area of the temple, with gabled wings on the north and south. A pedimented extension on the front once extended into a porch; the front section of the building was lost when Woodward was widened.[2]

Later use

When the Temple Beth El congregation built another building farther north along Woodward in 1922, they sold the building at Woodward and Eliot to Jessie Bonstelle for $500,000.[4] Bonstelle hired architect C. Howard Crane to convert the building into a theater, naming the resulting building the Bonstelle Playhouse.[4] In 1928, the Bonstelle Playhouse became the Detroit Civic Theatre, and in the 1930s became the Mayfair Motion Picture Theater. In 1951, Wayne State University rented the building as a performance space for its theater company, and purchased it outright in 1956, renaming it the Bonstelle Theatre in honor of Jessie Bonstelle.

Gallery

  • Temple Beth El, c. 1905

  • Jessie Bonstelle in 1908

  • Side view of the theater, with the name still showing on the back house brick

See also

References

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Further reading

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External links

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Temple Beth-El from Detroit 1701.org.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Katz, Irving I., The Beth El Story (with a History of Jews in Michigan Before 1850), Wayne State University Press, 1955, pp. 96-101.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Press release from Wayne State University celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Bostelle Theatre.
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