Photo Record
Images
Metadata
Title |
Congregation Anshei Sfard Photograph Collection |
Collection |
Congregation Anshei Sfard Photograph Collection |
Catalog Number |
024PC14 |
Date |
2018 |
Description |
*See attached item list (in-house only)* The collection consists of over 550 born-digital photographs (4.00 GB) of the interior and exterior of Congregation Anshei Sfard on Dutchmans Lane in Louisville, Kentucky. The digital files can be viewed using Filson library computers. Remote access may be granted on a case-by-case basis. Please speak to staff about how to access digital files. The photographs were taken by Stuart Goldberg in 2018, when Anshei Sfard was planning to move from Dutchmans Lane to a new location. The history of Congregation Anshei Sfard dates back to around 1893, when a group of Jewish immigrants from southern Russia began to establish a presence in Louisville. They reflected the ultra-observant Chasidic community. They established Congregation Anshei Sfard ("Men of the South"), making a connection with their homeland. The word Sfard led to some confusion as Sfard or Sephardic usually refers to members or descendants of the Jewish community who lived in Spain and Portugal from the later centuries of the Roman Empire until their mass expulsion in the last decades of the 15th century. Despite its name, Congregation Anshei Sfard had no connection with this Sephardic community. In 1903, Anshei Sfard purchased a building, a synagogue at 511 South First Street built by Temple Brith Sholom in 1881. This building was Anshei Sfard's home for 55 years until 1958 when construction of the North-South Expressway (I-65) took the property. In 1955 the congregation moved to 3700 Dutchmans Lane next to the newly opened Jewish Community Center (JCC). Since the 1940s, the Jewish community had been moving steadily east from downtown, making the neighborhood around Dutchmans Lane the new epicenter of Louisville Jewry. By the twenty-first century, Anshei Sfard was coping with shrinking numbers and a much older membership. Unable to support the upkeep and maintenance of their building, they chose to sell the property and building to Jewish Community of Louisville (JCL). By 2021 the congregation moved to a strip mall at 2904 Bardstown Road where daily and holy worship services are conducted and classes are held. The Filson deeply appreciates the volunteer work of Rabbi Stanley Miles in writing the historical note for this collection and providing description for the photographs in the item list. Folder 1: Exterior Includes photos of the exterior of the building and the cornerstone marking when the sanctuary was dedicated in 1963. Folder 2: Interior Includes photos of the interior of the building, such as the kitchen, auditorium, sanctuary, and the synagogue library. Folder 3: Objects and textiles Includes photos of the pulpit cloth, a Torah crown, Ark curtain, a tablecloth with names of congregants embroidered on it, and Torah mantles. Folder 4: Plaques Includes photos of a Tree of Life wall plaque, dedicatory plaques, and memorial Yahrzeit plaques. Folder 5: Portraits Includes photos of portraits of former presidents of Anshei Sfard. Folder 6: Stained glass Includes photos of stained-glass windows and art installations depicting Jacob's Ladder, a Menorah, the star of David, the Tribes of Israel, the Lions of Judah, Tablets of the Ten Commandments, an Eternal Light (Ner Tamid), representation of Shema Yisrael, the old city of Jerusalem, and Noah's Ark with rainbow and dove. Photos attached include: Folder 1: Front exterior of Anshei Sfard Folder 2: Sanctuary of Anshei Sfard Folder 3: Pulpit cloth Folder 4: Memorial Yahrzeit plaques Folder 5: Portrait of Nathan Baer Folder 6: Stained glass window of Menorah, eternal light, and star of David |
Search Terms |
Jews Kentucky - Louisville Synagogues |