Forty-four new Jewish Community Center buildings costing $28,100,000 for land, construction and equipment have been opened since the end of World War II and three others to cost in the aggregate $4,000,000 will be completed late in 1957 or early in 1958, it was reported today by the National Jewish Welfare Board. Fifteen other new Center buildings are in various stages of planning or construction. The 44 new Center buildings already in use and the three to be dedicated within the year are all affiliated with and served by JWB, the national association of Jewish Community Centers.
Total membership in the 353 Jewish Community Centers affiliated with JWB reached 565,000 at the end of 1955, an all-time high and a two percent increase over 1954, the report said. More than two-thirds of all JWB-affiliated Centers showed membership gains, continuing the upward trend that has been uninterrupted since the end of World War II. Center membership rose by 25 percent since 1945.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.