Cincinnati's (former) Wise Center Windows: A Mid-Century Modern Surprise in a Majestic 1920s Building

Cincinnati, Ohio. Former Isaac M. Wise Center, now Zion Temple First Pentecostal Church. Detail of the Israel Windows. Herman Verbinnen, artist. 1968.  Photo: Samuel D. Gruber 2017.

Cincinnati, Ohio. Former Isaac M. Wise Center, now Zion Temple First Pentecostal Church.  Photo: Samuel D. Gruber 2017.

Cincinnati's (former) Wise Center Windows: A Mid-Century Modern Surprise in a Majestic 1920s Building
by Samuel D. Gruber

[Thanks to Andrea Rapp, Temple Librarian of the Isaac M. Wise Temple in Cincinnati, for help in researching this post. I  thank the congregants of Zion Temple First Pentecostal Church for welcoming my unannounced visit and allowing me access to the sanctuary.]

I recently wrote about Cincinnati's former Isaac M. Wise Center on Reading Road, built by Congregation K.K. B'nai Yeshurun in the 1920s to supplement use of the historic Plum Street Temple downtown was one of the first known instances (to me) of the creation of the "satellite synagogue/school" that could serve the needs of a congregation which had moved to a new neighborhood but was for various reasons not ready or willing to give up its much-loved older home. An addition to the 1920s center was built in the 1950s.

In 1968, a new program of stained glass windows were added, and these are an important example of mid-century modern synagogue stained glass. Though not of the order of Abraham Rattner's great windows at the Chicago Loop Synagogue, Ben Shahn's designs for Temple Beth Zion in Buffalo, or Adolph Gottlieb's windows for the Kingsway Jewish Center in Brooklyn or the Park Avenue Synagogue in Manhattan, they should be considered along with the work of Jean-Jacques Duval as beautiful work by Christian stained glass artists for Jewish clients, who strove to adapt their more frequently commissioned work for churches to synagogue use.

In the late 1960s, rather than create a still newer center,  the decision was made to upgrade the existing auditorium with a new complementary mid-century modern look. The new Ark and windows, dedicated in 1968, were given in memory of Edward M. Marks by his wife, Mrs. Emma Marks and daughters Miss Janet Marks and Mrs. May Fechheimer. Possibly it was thought that by updating the Center's look in a more contemproary modern style that membership could be retained despite the changing demographics of the neighborhood. Jews left Avondale and moved further north, and the Wise Center was sold in 1971.

The Zion Temple First Pentecostal Church that purchased the building and maintains it well, and the congregation chose to retain much of the synagogue decoration, including the then very recent stained glass windows.

Cincinnati, Ohio. Former Isaac M. Wise Center, now Zion Temple First Pentecostal Church.  Photo: Samuel D. Gruber 2017.

John Burdick (1921-1997) and Otto Bauer-Nilsen were engaged as architects for the renovation. A new Ark was designed by Frank Francois, and new stained glass windows were commissioned from Herman Verbinnen (1932-1987). Rabbi Albert Goldman created the concept, and probably oversaw the selection of the unusual symbolism included in the window design. Rabbi Goldman had been promoted to Senior Rabbi of the congregation in 1966.

The Ark and twelve stained glass windows were not all that was new at the Isaac M. Wise Temple. In 1971 rabbinical student Sally Priesand served as a rabbinic intern to the congregation. A year later  she would become the first American woman ordained as a rabbi, opening a new era for American Judaism, and pioneering a new role for American Jewish women.

Stained glass artist Verbinnen, who was born in Belgium, was responsible for several important for the creation of several programs of stained windows for religious sites, especially in Southern Ohio where he worked for many years before his early death at age 55. In Cincinnati one can still see the monumental windows he created at St. Paul Lutheran Church on Madison Road and the windows of the Forest Chapel United Methodist Church at 680 W. Sharon Road. In 2016 his windows for the Chapel of the Immaculate Conception at the University of Dayton were removed.

For rabbi Goldman and the Isaac M. Wise Center, Verbinnen created 12 tall windows (6 pairs) in muted tones to fill the existing arched spaces. The windows consist of abstract designs of irregularly shaped but basically rectangular and trapezoidal colored panes, over which are laid painted symbols with Hebrew words and inscriptions. Some inscriptions appear backwards. It is not clear if this was intentional to allow some to be read from the outside and some from within, or whether some windows were installed backwards either originally or during later repairs.

I have not yet seen pictures of the original windows. Rabbi Goldman's concept for the windows was that they reflect many facets of the Congregation. 

The following descriptions are taken from a brochure published in 1971 at the time of the dedication.  It is a good thing the congregation published this, as it is doubtful most congregants would have figured out the meanings on their own. 

The photos are my own, taken on a quick visit in early November 2017. They correspond to the published descriptions.

Two windows form each of six panels, which trace the history of the Isaac M. Wise Temple, its roots, and its aspirations.

THE FREEDOM WINDOWS

The first represents American freedom. Fifty stars, the states, form an arc over the capitol building. The flame of the eternal light, marking the grave of John F. Kennedy, combines with these to symbolize the ideal and reality of freedom in America.

"And they shall seek the peace of the city (Jeremiah.)

The second panel shows the Liberty Bell, America’s chosen symbol of freedom from foreign rule, placed over a plate of matzah, the traditional Jewish symbol of exodus and freedom.

‘‘And they shall proclaim liberty throughout the land” (Leviticus 25:10)

Cincinnati, Ohio. Former Isaac M. Wise Center, now Zion Temple First Pentecostal Church. The Freedom Windows. Herman Verbinnen, artist. 1968.  Photo: Samuel D. Gruber 2017.

THE CINCINNATI WINDOWS

The first panel shows the street of spires: an artist s concept of Plum St. as it stands, in the heart of Cincinnati. The spires of a Protestant Church, Catholic Church, the mosque-like spires of the Isaac M. Wise Temple, and the spires of City Hall mingle; showing the richness of variety which adds to the strength of Cincinnati.

"And they shall walk, each man, in the name of his God: (Micah )

The second window is a faithful picture of the Isaac M. Wise Temple on Plum Street built by this Congregation in 1865. This building saw the nourishment and growth of Reform Judaism, nurtured by Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise, and guided into the present. 

‘‘And we shall walk in the way of our Lord (Micah.)

Cincinnati, Ohio. Former Isaac M. Wise Center, now Zion Temple First Pentecostal Church. The Cincinnati Windows. Herman Verbinnen, artist. 1968.  Photo: Samuel D. Gruber 2017.

THE FESTIVAL WINDOWS

These windows hold symbols of the major Jewish holidays. The first holds a Chanukah menorah, reminder of a war of liberation and a miracle wrought while giving thanks and praise to God. It contains a shofar, the ram s horn, which called the tribes of Israel together, and which has sounded on Rosh Hashonoh and Yom Kippur throughout the ages.

The second panel shows the Sabbath candles and the wine cup, which mark the seventh day of the week as a day of rest and worship, holy unto the Lord. The lulav, symbol of God’s omnipresence, and the etrog, symbol of bitter times, represent the Festival of Booths

"These are the festivals of the Lord." (Pentateuch)

Cincinnati, Ohio. Former Isaac M. Wise Center, now Zion Temple First Pentecostal Church. The Festival Windows. Herman Verbinnen, artist. 1968.  Photo: Samuel D. Gruber 2017.

THE PEACE WINDOWS

The first Peace Window shows an open book on top of a broken sword, symbolizing the triumph of knowledge as a way of life over that of war.

The complementary panel shows the Torah, lifted aloft, depicting the joy and triumph of learning and know­ledge of the kingdom of God.

"Its way are ways of pleasantness, and all its paths are peace " (Psalms)

Cincinnati, Ohio. Former Isaac M. Wise Center, now Zion Temple First Pentecostal Church. The Peace Windows. Herman Verbinnen, artist. 1968.  Photo: Samuel D. Gruber 2017.

THE MARTYR WINDOWS

The mountain of the Lord, with a backdrop of flames, and the downcast people, surrounded by chains, depict the devastation of persecution. The chains and fire sym­bolize historic bondage, as well as the Nazi holocaust.

"For the sake of Thy Name."

The mountain, again, forms the background of the second panel. This shows people leaving through open gates, ascending the mountain with heads uplifted. The Mountain of the Lord, and the gates symbolize release and the pursuit of righteousness. These windows are dedicated to the memory of the six million who perished under the Nazis, and to the martyrs of the generations.

Open unto me the gates of righteousness. " (Psalms)

Cincinnati, Ohio. Former Isaac M. Wise Center, now Zion Temple First Pentecostal Church. The Martyr Windows. Herman Verbinnen, artist. 1968.  Photo: Samuel D. Gruber 2017.

THE ISRAEL WINDOWS

The creation of the State of Israel is celebrated in these panels. The first displays the official seal of Israel: the candelabra and the olive branch of peace.

"Israel".

The second shows the sun shining on the land of Israel. The shape of the state of Israel outlines the wheat sheaves, showing fruitfulness of a previously barren land. Ships and planes, headed toward the land, show the in­gathering of immigrants from all parts of the world,

And I shall build you and I shall plant you. "(Jeremiah)

Cincinnati, Ohio. Former Isaac M. Wise Center, now Zion Temple First Pentecostal Church. The Israel Windows. Herman Verbinnen, artist. 1968.  Photo: Samuel D. Gruber 2017.

USA: Cincinnati's (former) Isaac M. Wise Center, a Muscular 1920s Building with Delicate Detail

Cincinnati, Ohio. former Isaac M. Wise Center (now Zion First Pentecostal church), A. Lincoln Fechheimer, architect 1926-1927. Photo: Samuel D. Gruber 2017

Cincinnati, Ohio. former Isaac M. Wise Center (now Zion First Pentecostal church), A. Lincoln Fechheimer, architect 1926-1927. Photo: Samuel D. Gruber 2017

USA: Cincinnati's (former) Isaac M. Wise Center, a Muscular 1920s Building with Delicate Detail
by Samuel D. Gruber

The former Isaac M. Wise Center on Reading Road in Cincinnati, Ohio, was built by Congregation K. K. Bene Yeshurun (Isaac M. Wise Temple) in the 1920s to supplement use of the historic Plum Street Temple (built 1866) downtown. It provided classrooms, offices and a library as well as a large auditorium that served as a second sanctuary for worship services. This was one of the first known instances (to me) of the creation of the "satellite synagogue and school" that could serve the needs of a congregation which had moved to a new neighborhood but was for various reasons not ready or willing to give up its much-loved older home. Unlike other instances of such arrangements (Tifereth Israel, Cleveland; B'nai Jehudah, Kansas City) where eventually the older facility was sold, in Cincinnati the Plum Street Temple was retained but the 1920s Wise Center was sold in 1972 when the congregation moved further from the city center.

A. Lincoln Fechheimer (1876-1954) was the architect of the new Wise Center, with his partner Benjamin Ihorst. I recently wrote about Fechheimer and his earlier work designing Hebrew Union College. For the Isaac Wise Center, he rejected the ornate Moorish style of the Plum Street Temple. By the 1920s, this was a style mostly used by Orthodox congregations and institutions (Yeshiva University, for example). He also rejected the Gothic style that he used at HUC, which might have made some sense, but that while that style which was deemed appropriate for college architecture it had rarely been  used for American synagogues since before the Civil War.

 

Cincinnati, Ohio. Plum Street Temple, 1866. Compare the lavish interior with the simpler auditorium of the 1920s Isaac Wise Center. Photo: Samuel D. Gruber 2017.

Cincinnati, Ohio. former Isaac M. Wise Center (now Zion First Pentecostal church). Interior view toward Ark wall. A. Lincoln Fechheimer, architect 1926-1927. Photo: Samuel D. Gruber 2017

There were three architecture styles dominant for American Reform congregations. These included the Classical, which has been popular since the turn of the century and had helped re-brand the movement as a civic-minded, almost nativist denomination in the face of rising tensions over massive immigration to Europe. Predictably, this style was chosen for the Reform Congregation K. K. Bene Israel, a massive Roman temple style building erected nearby on Reading Road in 1910. [On the popularity of the style see my article

Arnold W. Brunner and the New Classical Synagogue in America.]

In the post-World War I period, while the Reform movement searched for new architectural styles, the growing Conservative Movement favored Classicism, as is evident in the still-extant building of  congregation Adath Israel, built in 1926 at 3556 Reading Road, and sold in the late 1960s to the Southern Baptist Church. Adath Israel, designed by Jewish architect Oscar Schwartz, is a large synagogue closely resembles that of K. K. Bene Israel. Conservative congregations built Classical style synagogues and Jewish center across the country.

Cincinnati, Ohio. Congregation K. K. Bene Israel, Rudolph Tietig, arch., 1910. Photo: postcard courtesy of the William A, Rosenthal Collection, College of Charleston.

Cincinnati, Ohio. Former Adath Israel (now Southern Baptist Church), 3556 Reading Road, Oscar Schwartz, architect (?),1926.  Photo: Samuel D. Gruber 2017

Demand for the Classical style by Reform congregations waned after World War I. But the K. K. Bene Yeshurun builders of the new Isaac M. Wise Center probably would have thought twice in any case, since Bene Israel, from which they had broken off back in 1840, remained their chief congregational rival. No doubt the decision to build the new center - which has a large sanctuary - was to better to compete with Bene Israel in the still-expanding Jewish neighborhood of Avondale. And then there was the reputation of K. K. Bene Yeshurun to maintain. They had been innovative their introduction of Moorish architecture and decoration at the Plum Street Synagogue in 1866 (building) and 1874 (painting), that it would have been important for them to make a strong architectural statement in their new building, too.

 

Another developing styles in the 1920s were variants of Byzantine and Romanesque architecture, which while still historicist, was relatively new for synagogue and when used by a creative architect allowed all sorts of innovations. Fechheimer certainly would have known Chicago's recent Temple Isaiah by Jewish architect Alfred Alschuler, dedicated in 1924.

Chicago, Illinois. Temple Isaiah K.A.M. Alfred Alschuler, architect, Photo: Samuel D. Gruber.

A third style that was emerging just at the end of the 1920s was a stripped down style with smooth walls adorned - if at all - with shallow relief sculpture. These clean walls  allowed a strong emphasis on bold often compact massing. This is what we now call Art Deco, or sometimes for more stream-lined examples, Art Moderne. In the mid-1920s the style was already being used for some types of civic buildings, and Fechheimer himself would masterfully employ the style at the (recently demolished) Wilson Auditorium at the University of Cincinnati in built a few years after the Isaac Wise Center. 

The Byzantine design of Temple Tifereth Israel in Cleveland by Charles Greco, built, 1922-24, moved toward an Art Deco aesthetic in its massing, but there were no full blown Art Deco synagogues to challenge Fechheimer when was designing the Wise Center around 1925-26. The masterpiece of the style, Temple Emanuel in Paterson, New Jersey, designed by F. W. Wentworth, would not be completed until 1929.

Cleveland, Ohio. The Temple (Tifereth Israel). Charles Greco, architect. Photo: Samuel D. Gruber 1997.

 Paterson, NJ. Temple Emanuel. Photo: Vincent Giordano/ISJM 2006

So, the Isaac M. Wise Center is built in a neo-Medieval style but already with detail work that reflects Art Deco sensibilities. It is in part of the contract of the bold rough stonework of the building walls and crisp, almost delicate Deco-like details scattered over doors and windows, that makes this work so interesting and attractive.

The great entry arch, may respond to the large arch of the former Sh'erith Ahabeth Achim Synagogue at 3212 Reading Road (now New Friendship Baptist Church), designed by another favorite architect of the Jewish Community Rudoplh Teitig (1877-1958). But because it has a slightly pointed extrados, it is more likely a nod to the Moorish style of the Plum Street Temple.

Cincinnati, Ohio. Former Sh'erith Ahabeth Achim Synagogue, 3212 Reading Road, now New Friendship Baptist Church. Rudolph Teitig, architect, 1906. Photo: Samuel D. Gruber 2017

7.

Cincinnati, Ohio. former Isaac M. Wise Center (now Zion First Pentecostal church), A. Lincoln Fechheimer, architect 1926-1927. Photo: Samuel D. Gruber 2017

Cincinnati, Ohio. former Isaac M. Wise Center (now Zion First Pentecostal church), A. Lincoln Fechheimer, architect 1926-1927. Photo: Samuel D. Gruber 2017

Cincinnati, Ohio. former Isaac M. Wise Center (now Zion First Pentecostal church). note the Tablets, Menorah and other other modest decoration.  A. Lincoln Fechheimer, architect 1926-1927. Photo: Samuel D. Gruber 2017

The attenuated colonettes flanking the doors which rise to support the spring of the arch are also exotic. They are each articulated in a different pattern, similar to what one finds in New York a few years later), But carved columns on facades were popular in the 19th-century, most evident in the exuberant designs of the facade of the Museum of Natural History in London, or a little closer to home at the great St. Boniface Church in Chicago built in 1902. The facade is also marked by the Tablets of the Law and a representation of the Temple Menorah within a roundel. The decoration on the rest of the building is limited and very simple. Most of these are geometrically inspired patterns above or below window and door sills and lintels, and under horizontal string courses. The primary decorative quality of the building's exterior is its bright and warmly colored stone.

Cincinnati, Ohio. former Isaac M. Wise Center (now Zion First Pentecostal church).  Rear, south side facade. Note sawtooth dentil decoration beneath horizontal band. A. Lincoln Fechheimer, architect 1926-1927. Photo: Samuel D. Gruber 2017.

Cincinnati, Ohio. former Isaac M. Wise Center (now Zion First Pentecostal church), A. Lincoln Fechheimer, architect 1926-1927. Photo: Samuel D. Gruber 2017.

The interior space of the Wise Center is spacious, unobstructed, and relatively subdued. Its simplicity much have been quite a shock - or a relief - to the congregation after the busy and bright Moorish patterns of the old Plum Street Temple. There is a single broad and low barrel vault the runs the entire length of the sanctuary. This is cut into on the side to allow large double windows under single round arches. In the late 1960s the sanctuary was remolded and the present-day windows designed and manufactured by stained glass artist Herman Verbinnen were installed. More on these windows in forthcoming post.

Cincinnati, Ohio. former Isaac M. Wise Center (now Zion First Pentecostal church). Interior view to entrance. The windows are from a 1960s renovation. A. Lincoln Fechheimer, architect 1926-1927. Photo: Samuel D. Gruber 2017.

Cincinnati, Ohio. former Isaac M. Wise Center (now Zion First Pentecostal church). Vestibule. A. Lincoln Fechheimer, architect 1926-1927. Photo: Samuel D. Gruber 2017.

Cincinnati, Ohio. former Isaac M. Wise Center (now Zion First Pentecostal church). The heating grates provide addtional decorative and symbols patterns. A. Lincoln Fechheimer, architect 1926-1927. Photo: Samuel D. Gruber 2017.

An addition to Wise Center on North Crescent was dedicated on Sept. 11, 1955. This modest orange brick building is largely out of keeping with the style of the 1920s Center, but is in the style of the 1950s - a mix of casual modernism with traditional vernacular elements.

Cincinnati, Ohio. former Isaac M. Wise Center (now Zion First Pentecostal church), 1955 addition. Photo: Samuel D. Gruber 2017

Thanks to Andrea Rapp, librarian of the Isaac M. Wise Temple for some information used in this post.

Lithuania: Report on the Conference about the Vilna Great Synagogue Site

Vilnius, Lithuania. School building on site of Great Synagogue of Vilna. Photo: Samuel Gruber 2017.

Vilnius, Lithuania. School building on site of Great Synagogue of Vilna. Photo: Samuel Gruber 2017.

Vilnius, Lithuania. School building on site of Great Synagogue of Vilna. Photo: Samuel Gruber 2017.

Lithuania: Report on the Conference about the Vilna Great Synagogue Site
by Samuel D. Gruber 

In September I had the pleasure of participating in the conference called to discuss the future of the site of the former Great Synagogue of Vilna/Vilnius. Specific projects and general ideas for the site have been floated for almost thirty years, but the area remains mostly neglected. It is comprised of a scruffy urban park amidst Communist-era apartment blocks. A  low-rise Soviet-era kindergarten is set smack over a good part of the synagogues buried foundations.

Vilnius, Lithuania. Plan of part of Old Jewish Quarter with Vilna Shul and Shulhoyf. Map from T. Venclova, Vilnius: City Guide (Vilnius: R. Paknio leidykla, 2015)

In recent years several short archaeological seasons, led first by Zenonas Baubonis and Mindaugas Maciulis and subsequently by Jon Seligman, have revealed well-preserved sections of the sanctuary, and most recently, two mikva'ot, part of a bath complex on the shulhoyf, next to the synagogue.

Vilnius, Lithuania. School building on site of Great Synagogue of Vilna. Photo: Samuel Gruber 2017

Vilnius, Lithuania. Main entrance to school building on site of Great Synagogue of Vilna. Photo: Samuel Gruber 2017

Vilnius, Lithuania. Main entrance to school building on site of Great Synagogue of Vilna. Photo: Samuel Gruber 2017

It was clearly the consensus of the conference that this situation could not and should not be sustained. City officials now appear to be sufficiently embarrassed by the site, which is visited by thousands of international visitors every year. Even the mayor of Vilnius agreed on this point, and he thought a five-year time period was favorable, given that Vilnius will be celebrating its 700th anniversary in 2023.  Since the conference I'm told there have been continuing talks about how to move forward.

Almost everyone favored continuation of the archaeology, but there is no consensus yet as to what end. The site can be treated in many ways - from an archaeological park, or a memorial garden, or as an interpretive center or museum, or even with a completely rebuilt, and mostly modern, structure. While various options were put forward, it was not the thrust of the conference to be absolute, but rather to search widely for inspiration and examples about how the site could be best preserved and presented, and how accessibly, forcefully, and explicitly the site and its history could be publicly presented.

Fine papers by Vladimir Levin and Sergey Kravtsov of the Center for Jewish Art presented the history of the synagogue and the development and meaning of its architecture. Another by Aistė Niunkaitė-Raciuniene presented detailed and excellent account of representations of the synagogue in art, and especially through the holdings of Vilnius's Museum of Tolerance, where she is curator. 

Vilnius, Lithuania. Zydu Street in its new alignment with school building on site of Great Synagogue of Vilna. Photo: Samuel Gruber 2017

Vilnius, Lithuania. Vilan Gaon monument on Zydu St. and school building on site of Great Synagogue of Vilna. Photo: Samuel Gruber 2017

Vilnius, Lithuania. Informational sign across Zydu St. from site of Great Synagogue of Vilna. Photo: Samuel Gruber 2017

Jon Seligman presented in detail about the results of archaeological excavations and he also spoke about the challenges of archaeological conservation, and showed several examples of successful efforts to publicly present archeological finds. Most dramatic of these is the splendid archaeological exhibit which is a major component of Vilnius's own entirely rebuilt Palace of the Duke's.

I, too, spoke on a related subject, providing many examples from abroad - including the United States - of how archaeological remains have been conserved, protected, presented, interpreted, and deconstructed as historical, cultural,or  memorial objects or as sites of veneration or commemoration. I've written on this blog in the past and will in the future about  examples of preservation of ruins, but I'll hold off here, since my paper will be available in a published form.  Important, too, were several more detailed comparative presentations about measures taken in other cities, including Berlin and Cologne.

Israeli architect Tsila Zak presented her latest concept for the area. She first won a competition in 1980 that would address the site and she has been adjusting, refining, and adapting this for decades. Over the years, it has been endorsed and accepted by many local governments and leading cultural figures, but never implemented. Whether Zak's design will now have a chance in uncertain. Her project addresses many of the main concerns and seems very practical. She re-instates the older street pattern and approximates the former elevation, and she creates a public memorial space - part paved and part green - that includes important symbolic elements of the synagogue but also is designed to accommodate individual and group gatherings, continuing a fundamental role of a synagogue space. Zak's design could be built in phases and adjusted in many ways. She has given years of thought to the problem of the place and space, so her work seems the best place to start a broad public and professional discussion.

Vilnius, Lithuania. Zydu Street in its new alignment with school building on site of Great Synagogue of Vilna. Photo: Samuel Gruber 2017

Vilnius, Lithuania. Zydu Street in its new alignment with school building on site of Great Synagogue of Vilna. Photo: Samuel Gruber 2017

Vilnius, Lithuania. Large garbage bins line much of the area around the site of former Great Synagogue of Vilna. Photo: Samuel Gruber 2017

Vilnius, Lithuania. This open area with a small playground is across Zydu Street from the site of former Great Synagogue of Vilna. Photo: Samuel Gruber 2017

Vilnius, Lithuania. Zydu Street in its new alignment with school building on site of Great Synagogue of Vilna. Photo: Samuel Gruber 2017

Vilnius, Lithuania. Large garbage bins line much of the area around the site of former Great Synagogue of Vilna. Photo: Samuel Gruber 2017

Vilnius, Lithuania. Modern apartment buildings surround much of  the area of the site former Great Synagogue of Vilna. Photo: Samuel Gruber 2017

Vilnius, Lithuania. Modern apartment buildings surround much of  the area of the site former Great Synagogue of Vilna. Photo: Samuel Gruber 2017