Jewish Heritage Report
Vol. I, Nos. 3-4 / Winter 1997-98
Montreal 1920s Synagogue

Montreal Committee Hopes To Save 1920s Beth Shloime Synagogue

Urban planner Joshua Wolfe and architect Norman Spatz want to see Montreal's last East European immigrant synagogue saved. The 350-seat synagogue is located in an 1899 red-brick duplex on Clark Street in Bagg, once the heart of Jewish Montreal. At one time there were at least a dozen synagogues in the area, but Beth Shloime is the only survivor. The synagogue opened in the house in 1922, and little has changed since that time. There has not been a rabbi for the synagogue since the 1950s, but it usually attracts a minyon in Saturdays.

The Ark (imported from Antwerp), the pews, and other interior fittings were moved to the synagogue from the old Shaar Hashomayim which was constructed in 1886. The building's condition is generally good, although it needs a new furnace, outside brickwork, a new sprinkler system and other improvements to its mechanical systems to bring the building up to code. The preservation group would like the building declared an historic landmark by the government or the Jewish community.

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Updated: 23-July-98