ca. 1931. The first Jewish synagogue in Tacoma was built in 1893 at the corner of So. 10th and So. I St. (921-23 So. I St.) Nineteen years later, the new Temple Beth Israel shown in this photograph was built at 324 No. J St. This building was the home of Tacoma's reform congregation from 1922 until the 1960 merger with Talmud Torah Synagogue. In 1965 it was sold to the Apostolic Faith Church. It still looks very much like it did when this photograph was taken in 1931, and it still retains its beautiful stain glass windows. Bowen# CHU-019

Confirmation class. Rabbi Richard Rosenthal stands among the May, 1964, confirmation class at Temple Beth Israel. The fourteen young men and women are dressed in robes with the males wearing talliths with a striped design.

Rosenthal, Richard; Rabbis--Tacoma; Confirmations--Tacoma; Judaism--Tacoma; Temple Beth El (Tacoma); Synagogues--Tacoma;

Rabbi Richard Rosenthal poses with a wide-eyed group of nine children, seven boys and two girls, at the Temple Beth Israel Synagogue on October 23, 1959.

Rosenthal, Richard; Rabbis--Tacoma; Judaism--Tacoma; Temple Beth Israel Synagogue (Tacoma); Synagogues--Tacoma; Children--Tacoma--1950-1960;

Nine children, 7 boys and 2 girls, posed for their Consecration photograph with Rabbi Richard Rosenthal at Temple Beth Israel, No. 4th & J Sts, in September of 1956, a month after he had arrived from Ft. Leonard Wood, Missouri, where he had served as an army chaplain for two years. They were: back row, left to right: Doug Kleiner, unidentified, Rabbi Rosenthal, Marc Blau, Larry Heiman and Marty Lyon. Front row, left to right: Glen Barde, Stacey Simon, Jonathan Hurst and Lisa Drost. Many of the children's parents were well known in the community, both in business and civic activities. Born in Germany, Rabbi Rosenthal came to the U.S. in 1939 and settled in Shreveport, La. He was a graduate of the Centenary College in Shreveport and was ordained at the Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati in 1954. He and his wife Barbara lived at 409 North Sheridan Ave. Temple Beth Israel identified itself with the reform movement in Judaism. In 1960, it merged with the more Orthodox Congregation Talmud Torah. Rabbi Rosenthal led the combined congregations. The temple at 4th & J was sold in 1964 to the Apostolic Faith Church and the congregation moved to a new temple at So. 12th and Vassault. The old temple was known for its unusual stained glass windows, created as memorials to pioneer families. ("The History of Pierce County, Vol 1;" TNT 8/17/1956, pg. 4-article on Rabbi Rosenthal) (Additional identification provided by a reader)

Rosenthal, Richard; Rabbis--Tacoma; Judaism--Tacoma; Temple Beth Israel Synagogue (Tacoma); Synagogues--Tacoma; Kleiner, Doug; Blau, Marc; Heiman, Larry; Lyon, Marty; Barde, Glen; Simon, Stacey; Hurst, Jonathan; Drost, Lisa;