The fifth oldest Reform congregation in the United States.

Temple Emanuel was originally founded as the “Benevolent and Burial Society” in 1857. Occupying rented spaces until 1881, it built its first home in downtown Grand Rapids. The organizers were five German families who had left Europe’s difficult conditions. The congregation remained largely Germanic until Eastern European Jews began to move into the area in the 1880s.

By 1948 the congregation decided to build not just a larger synagogue, but one that was also an architectural icon. Towards that end they contracted with Eric Mendelsohn. Before moving from Germany to the United States, along with Mies van der Rohe and Walter Gropius he was one of the founders of Der Ring, a progressive architecture group. While heavily influenced by both Bauhaus and Art Deco styles, Mendelsohn’s work has a strong and clear geometric character that is distinctly his own.

A huge mural by Lucienne Bloch Dimitroff was an important part of Mendelsohn’s design concept for the synagogue. The muralist, who studied with Diego Rivera, was the daughter of musical composer Ernst Bloch. The congregation balked at the mural’s $5,000 price tag. Mendelsohn told the congregation that if they didn’t include the murals they couldn’t have his design. Ultimately the congregation bore the cost and the building was completed using Mendelsohn’s design. As of 2016 the congregation was composed of about 290 member families.