History or comments

Described as an architectural wonder with a cavernous, spiraling wooden sanctuary in the shape of a helix.

The first Jewish settlers arrived in West Palm Beach in 1892. Temple Beth El was the first attempt to organize a synagogue in Palm Beach County. Beginning in 1919, with meetings at a house on 5th Street, Temple Beth El was incorporated in 1926 making it one of the oldest Conservative congregations in South Florida.

Its current building has been described as “an architectural wonder: Its cavernous, spiraling wooden sanctuary in the shape of a helix helped it be nominated as one of the Top 100 Buildings in Florida by the Florida chapter of the American Institute of Architects.” This remarkable building was designed by Alfred Browning Parker, a famous mid-century modernist from Coconut Grove, Florida and professor emeritus at the University of Florida