New Spirit Revival Center

Temple on the Heights in the 1920s [courtesy of B'nai Jeshurun]

For most of its life, the building at 3130 Mayfield Road was Temple on the Heights (aka Temple B’nai Jeshurun), a Conservative Jewish congregation, and one of the two earliest synagogues to be situated in a Cleveland suburb.

Indeed, B’nai Jeshurun marked the first stage of Jewish community migration away from the city.

Recognized for its 12-sided central dome, the building features a multi-faceted red tile roof and two-and-a-half story arcaded entry loggia, beautifully accenting the eclectic building which shows both Byzantine and Romanesque influences. 

With its later, matching chapel wing, here is a sprawling extravaganza which, due to pressure from the Rockefeller family, was nearly constructed at a site in East Cleveland, at Coventry and Superior roads.

Charles R. Greco designed the original section of the building, completed in 1926. Braverman & Halperin designed the 1956 wing. The building is listed in the National Register of Historic Places and was designated a Cleveland Heights Landmark in 1985.

In the 1980s, after the Jewish congregation moved to Pepper Pike, Paran Management redeveloped the property into The Civic. It housed offices for arts-related organizations, a live theater, space for entertainment venues, and space where several Christian congregations held services. Eventually, New Spirit Revival, one of those congregations, purchased and took over the building.

Ken Goldberg

Ken Goldberg is a member of the Cleveland Heights Landmark Commission, which preserves and protects buildings, works of art and other objects of historical or architectural value to the community. The commission's seven members are appointed to three-year terms by CH City Council.

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Volume 10, Issue 8, Posted 10:53 AM, 08.07.2017