Bagg Street Shul

The Bagg Street Shul or Beth Shloime (formally Congregation Temple Solomon) is an Orthodox[2] synagogue located at the intersection of Clark Street and Bagg Street in the Montreal Plateau region of Montreal, Quebec, Canada.[3]

Congregation Temple Solomon
Bagg Street Shul
Religion
AffiliationOrthodox Judaism
ProvinceQuebec
StatusActive
Location
LocationClark Street, Montreal,
Quebec,  Canada
Geographic coordinates45.516033°N 73.578685°W / 45.516033; -73.578685
Architecture
Completed1899[1]
Specifications
Capacity350[1]
MaterialsRed brick[1]
Website
baggstreetshul.com

In the early 1900s, fueled by heavy immigration, Jews established a large community in Montreal's Plateau region, around Saint Laurent Boulevard,[3] that supported at least a dozen synagogues at its peak.[1] It started to decline in the 1950s, as many Jews moved further west in Montreal or to other parts of Canada. The Bagg Street Shul is the only synagogue still remaining.[3]

The synagogue's building, a red-brick duplex on Clark Street, was constructed in 1899. The congregation purchased the building and moved there in 1922. The sanctuary seats 350.[1] The Torah ark, marble staircase, pews, bimah furniture, and chandeliers were moved to the synagogue from the McGill College location of the Congregation Shaar Hashomayim Synagogue. These items were purchased from the Shaar Hashomayim in 1918 for $1,500 ($22,000 today).[4] The building is recognized as a heritage site by Quebec's Minister of Culture,[5] and by the City of Montreal.[6]

The Bagg Street Shul is the oldest synagogue still operating with its original congregation in its original location in Quebec.[5] As of 2008, the congregation had 50 member families.[2]

References
  1. "Montreal Committee Hopes To Save 1920s Beth Shloime Synagogue", Jewish Heritage Report, Vol. I, Nos. 3-4 / Winter 1997-98.
  2. "National Synagogue Directory 5769/2008–2009" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-06. Retrieved 2010-11-28. (620 KB), Canadian Jewish Congress Charities Committee, 2008, p. 4.
  3. Sherman, Neilia (July 22, 2005). "Montreal's Jewish Heritage. A tour looks at 'The Main' enclave". Jewish News of Greater Phoenix. 57 (47). Archived from the original on 2011-06-09.
  4. Shuchat, Wilfred (2000). The Gate of Heaven: The Story of Congregation Shaar Hashomayim of Montreal, 1846–1996. McGill-Queen's University Press, Montreal. p. 82. ISBN 978-0-7735-2089-9.
  5. Shaffer, Carolyn (December 7–13, 2006). "Boosting the Bagg Shul. Funding and a dwindling membership make renovating Quebec's oldest synagogue a struggle". Montreal Mirror. 22 (25). Archived from the original on 2008-10-15.
  6. Home Page, Bagg Street Shul website. Accessed 2017-05-31.
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