William & Division

It might be worth rummaging around in What was there? to see if there are images that could shed some light on the building’s history.

What made you think it was once a synagogue? Is there a Jewish star or other Jewish symbol on the building?

Helen Aminoff wrote a very interesting history of the Jews in Ann Arbor, through the early 20th century. You can find it here: [link]
Emily Rose followed up with a different summary of the earliest residents (with pictures!): [link]

Based on what I read (I just re-read Helen Aminoff’s piece), I don’t think it was once a synagogue, but maybe I missed something. I believe the first actual synagogue in Ann Arbor (as opposed to meeting in people’s homes) was where the current Hillel building is now. Osias Zwerdling wanted to make sure that Jewish students could access the location.

The distinctive neo-classical building at 409 South Division?

[link from AADL] says:
First Church of Christ, Scientist, 1913

This building was originally the home of the First Church of Christ, Scientist. Its members first organized as a society in 1900, and re-organized into a church in 1901. Services were held in a rented home on this site which the church eventually bought. They removed the house and laid the cornerstone for this church building in 1912. It was opened to the public in 1913 and officially dedicated in June of 1926, free from debt.

The church is designed in a neo-classical style, somewhat reminiscent of Monticello, the home of Thomas Jefferson, whose models for classicism came from the Romans rather than the Greeks. The architect was Spencer Solon Beman, son of Chicago architect Solon Spencer Beman, who is famous for his design of Pullman, a planned community in Chicago.

I love the Chronicle’s readers! I thought it was a synagogue because I had a memory of reading or hearing it. But I looked up the history of Beth Israel [link] and it indicates that the first buildings were elsewhere, including the handsome red brick building near the nascent Library Lot structure.

It is a handsome building, that does indeed have neoclassical lines. I hope that it is being restored for loving use.

Vivienne is correct that Beth Israel used a building on N. Division. But it’s not near the Library Lot. Rather, it’s on the north end of the streen just before the Broadway Bridge. The link Vivienne provided on the Beth Israel website provided the address and the AADL website has a picture and information at the following link: [link]

Somewhere I once read that it was also a Masonic Temple at one time but I cannot recall the source.

#6 Johnboy, The temple was on 4th Ave, torn down years ago for the Federal Building and the Bus Terminal. I think it was referred to as the ugliest building in town.

That’ll teach me to make assumptions without a full check. I thought I recognized the red brick building from the AADL site without double-checking the address. The AADL description (dated 2007) of this one (the neoclassical former Church of Christ, Scientist) says it is intended as a personal residence. Hope that is the case. I’d love to see the building restored as part of our streetscape. That AADL archive is a great resource. Wish someone would install all those addresses into a Google map. Currently all that the Google satellite map shows near that corner is a real estate broker’s address.

Re #7: it’s fitting, somehow, that the ugliest building in town would be replaced by the new ugliest building in town. Some kind of conservation of ugliness.

Re #9: It is equally ironic that the ugliest building was owned by the Mason’s. After all, they are Masons, they build stuff, why not build good looking stuff instead of ugly stuff?