Beth Shalow Synagogue

Front inscription

In 1905 disagreements over religious practices divided members of Columbia’s Tree of Life Synagogue. Jews embracing Orthodoxy formed a new synagogue, which they named Beth Shalom (House of Peace). Meetings were held in a private home on the corner of Park and Lady Sts. until a sanctuary was completed in 1907. Destroyed by fire in 1915, it was rebuilt eight months later. Growth of the congregation led to a new temple in 1928.

Reverse inscription

Designed by noted Columbia firm Lafaye & Lafaye and built by M.B. Kahn, a member of the congregation, the new House of Peace was dedicated Sept. 8, 1935. In 1955, its members shifted from Orthodoxy to embrace the Conservative movement. For more than three decades the Marion St. landmark met the spiritual, cultural, and social needs of its members. In 1973 the congregation built a new synagogue on Trenholm Rd. in Forest Acres.