$450,000 Raised for Old Town Temple : Victorian Synagogue May Get Face Lift

Temple Beth Israel, the boarded-up Victorian synagogue in Old Town that was built by the founder of Southern California’s first Jewish congregation, may soon get its long-awaited face lift.

With the $450,000 needed to complete restoration of the historic landmark now secured, the county Department of Parks and Recreation is preparing a bidding package that will then go before the county Board of Supervisors soon for approval.

Restoration of the 99-year-old building--described by some as an eyesore among the 12 Victorian-era structures known as Heritage Park in Old Town--could be completed in eight months, said Robert Copper, parks and recreation director.

“It’s been there since 1978 and I would say it has probably been an eyesore,” said James S. Milch, a San Diego attorney who has led a fund-raising effort for the restoration.

‘Easy to Complain’

But, Milch added, “It’s very easy to complain. If I had $100 for everybody who complained about the building, it would have been restored a long time ago.”

The temple was moved in 1978 to the 7.5-acre, county-owned park where it was supposed to be refurbished and turned into an assembly hall and museum of San Diego’s religious heritage. The county was not able to fund the restoration, however, because of constraints on local government spending.

The tenants who moved into the other buildings and opened shops and restaurants were granted rent credit in return for restoring the structures themselves.

But that kind of deal was never offered for people interested in restoring the temple, which was never intended for commercial purposes.

“Since the temple was not having any tenants, it did not have that option open to them,” Copper said.”

Milch launched a nine-year fund-raising effort that culminated earlier this year with $450,000 in private donations, state parks bond grants and matching funds from the county. He credited county Supervisor Leon Williams and the county Department of Parks and Recreation with helping secure the government money.

“It was a difficult task,” Milch said. “The county did not want to embark on a contract unless we had the money in hand.”

Milch said the restored building will serve as an assembly hall for meetings, weddings and bar mitzvahs, as well as religious services conducted by other denominations.

Temple Beth Israel was built in 1889 on 2nd Avenue and Beech Street during the Jewish influx of the late 1880s, said San Diego-based historian Henry Schwartz. The man behind its construction, Old Town merchant Marcus Schiller, organized Southern California’s first Jewish congregation in San Diego in 1861, according to Schwartz.

Sold in 1926

Schwartz said the building was sold in 1926, when the congregation grew too large for the small structure. That year, he said, a new Temple Beth Israel opened at its current location, 3rd Avenue and Laurel Street.

In 1978, after serving as home over the years to various Universalists and Christian churches, the temple was designated a landmark on the National Register of Historic Places.

That same year, the temple was bought back by its original owner, Temple Beth Israel, for $10,000 and moved to Heritage Park to be restored to its Victorian past, Schwartz said.

Copper said the restored temple will become a “cultural and community center” that will be open five days a week.

He said the restoration project will include new pews, floors and banisters, with special attention to the ornamental detail of 19th-Century architecture.

Redwood scrolls will adorn the inside of the building, and the stained-glass windows on the outside will be replaced.