Plans to construct a new edifice for the Central Synagogue, here, one of the three oldest congregations in New York, were announced today by Matthew H. Ross, president of the Reform congregation. The new structure, on the site occupied by the present temple, which was built in 1870, will be called the Jonah B. Wise Memorial Building, commemorating the name of the rabbi who officiated at the synagogue for 34 years until his death in 1959.
The new building, Mr. Ross said, will be nine stories and will include 18 classrooms, meeting rooms, a library and museum, congregational offices, rabbi’s studies, a small auditorium, social lounge and related facilities Isaac Stern, chairman of the synagogue’s building committee, noted that the present six-story structure is inadequate for the needs of the congregation which now numbers more than 1,200 families and accommodates many religious as well as nonsectarian groups. Herbert Schwartz heads a new fund-raising drive for the congregation.
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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.