East Memphis synagogue may get ‘historic’ label
Tom Bailey
Daily Memphian
A half-century ago, young associate architect Keith Kays had just finished his long presentation to the building committee of Anshei Sphard-Beth El Emeth Congregation by asking, “Does anyone have any questions?”
Representing his boss and the lead architect, the late Francis Mah of Walk Jones, Mah & Jones Architects Inc., Kays had just unveiled the design concept for the new synagogue to be erected on 4 acres at 120 N. East Yates Road.
“And there was total silence,” Kays, now 78, said of the committee’s response to his question. “Total silence for an extended period of time. And I’m, of course, thinking to myself, ‘My god, they don’t like it.’
“And this nice man raised his hand and stood and said, ‘Mr. Kays, we only have one question. If we approve this and build it, will we like it?’
“I said, ‘Yes, you will.’
“So, they approved it,” Kays said.
Kays has never forgotten the trust the congregation placed in him and Mah, who was so prominent for his modern architecture.
Fifty years later, the mid-century modern building is a candidate for historic status. The designation would come in part because of the quality of the architecture, but also for the ethnic heritage and social history represented by the deeply rooted Orthodox Jewish congregation.
The Memphis Landmarks Commission on April 23 will consider whether to endorse placing the Anshei Sphard-Beth El Emeth Congregation property on the National Register of Historic Places.
“It is just very unique in terms of its modern architecture,” said Kelsey Lamkin, a historic preservationist/tourism specialist with the Memphis Area Association of Governments.
Aided by longtime congregation member Lynnie Mirvis, Lamkin prepared the in-depth nomination that will eventually make its way to the National Parks Service for final approval if the nomination first receives local and state support.
“Almost everything in it is still original,” Lamkin said of the building. “The details, everything is just so well thought out and intentional. Architecturally, it’s beautiful.
“It’s only 1970 and that doesn’t sound old, but it’s the culmination of over 150 years of Jewish history in Memphis,” Lamkin said, referring to the Anshei Sphard and Beth El Emeth congregations that merged.
Properties placed on the National Register of Historic Places must qualify under one of various categories such as architectural, historical or cultural significance. But they also generally must be at least 50 years old.
That the synagogue’s contemporary building now meets the age threshold reflects the maturity of suburban Memphis neighborhoods. Anshei Sphard-Beth El Emeth Congregation is nestled within ranch-style homes just inside the Interstate 240 loop.
The Anshei Sphard and Beth El Emeth congregations were both in the city’s core when they started discussing a merger in 1966, Mirvis said. They built the new building out east and moved in as one in 1970.
The three-level building is irregularly shaped. The solid-brick exterior walls have no traditional windows, but are topped with horizontal bands of tinted skylights.
The C-shaped sanctuary is rich in colors. “The seats are red and the carpet purple,” an Aug. 1, 1970, article in The Commercial Appeal states. “Silver walls reflect the colors and 42 lights, which hang down on slender poles.”
The new, $800,000 building featured a sanctuary with 686 theater-style seats that could be expanded to 900.
Ronald and Iris Harkavy have fond memories of working with Mah and Kays on the project. Ronald was synagogue president at the time, and Iris was in charge of the building’s décor.
Mah, Iris said, “captured my entire trust because he went to such lengths to understand what the Jewish first temple was in terms of color, in terms of materials, in terms of general feeling…
“We told him from the beginning: We did not want it to look like any synagogue the people have ever seen,” she recalled. “We wanted it to be a fresh, contemporary approach to a concept that would still speak of a Jewish temple.”
A number of synagogue members wanted a traditional building with “four walls, a ceiling and looked like an old building,” said Ronald, who as president pushed for the contemporary style. “I wanted something that would elevate the membership spiritually,” he said.
This photo of the sanctuary was taken soon after Grinder, Taber & Grinder completed construction of the synagogue in 1970.
The design achieved a spirituality “not seen in many synagogues,” Iris said. “They are attractive, but to me (Mah) captured the soaring spirituality. When you walk into the building you kind of take a gasp. You know you have left the ordinary.”
Mah told a Commecial Appeal reporter 50 years ago how his design sought to enhance the spirituality of the space. Covering the sanctuary surfaces with reflective material was intended to “dematerialize” the space “so that you never are conscious of the limits of the space,” he said.
“If you have no point of reference, you have no grasp of how big or small the space is... It’s a concept of how you can use finite physical material and transform that into a spiritual idea,” Mah told the newspaper.
Mirvis said of the building, “It may be unlike anything in the whole world.. It’s very contemporary, which is not usual for a synagogue. Usually, the buildings are more traditional with darker wood.
“These silver walls, and purple and pink and red. … At first people were saying, ‘What is this with all the color?’ ” Mirvis recalled.
She’s been a member since the 1970s of Anshei Sphard-Beth El Emeth, a congregation known by many for the annual kosher barbecue festivals it has hosted for 31 years.
As the synagogue reached its 50th year, Mirvis said, “I realized we had a jewel. ... It’s really for the whole community, too. I was thinking what a wonderful opportunity for all the people in our synagogue and beyond to really celebrate and to acknowledge with more awareness the jewel that is in our midst.”
Kays describes the design project as a special one in his long career.
“Why is it so close to my heart?” he said. “Because of the people. And the sincerity and desire of the people to have something they would like and enjoy.”
Now that a half-century has passed, did the congregation like the building as Kays assured the building committee it would?
“We did,” Mirvis said.
The construction project was among the first completed by Grinder, Taber & Grinder, founded in 1968 by Edward I. Grinder, Harold Taber and Irven E. Grinder.
The construction firm that went on tackle projects like building FedEx World Headquarters and converting the old Sears mail order warehouse into Crosstown Concourse.
But the the Anshei Sphard-Beth El Emeth Congregation synagogue has special meaning for Grinder, Taber & Grinder, especially if it receives historic status.
“We realized that this will be the first building listed on the National Historic Registry built by GTG!,” Justin Grinder, firm vice president, told The Daily Memphian by email.
“My grandfather would be so proud!” he said of Ed Grinder.
