Top: Elevation from Wilshire Boulevard

Bottom Left: Courtyard Sketch

Bottom Right: Plan

Wilshire Boulevard Temple
Client: Wilshire Boulevard Temple
Completion: 2013
Area: 270,000 sf

Incorporated in 1862, Congregation B'nai Brith was renamed Wilshire Boulevard Temple in 1929 when they dedicated their new building on Wilshire Boulevard. Designed by architect A.M. Edelman, the Byzantine exterior with details and polychromic treatment is reminiscent of the architecture of early Renaissance Florence, yet is nevertheless an essentially modern composition. Its 100 foot diameter dome rises 100 feet above street level. A suspended coffered ceiling and Hugo Ballin murals surround the sanctuary which is finished in black marble, carved walnut and gilded surfaces. The building is a City of Los Angeles Historic Cultural Monument and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

A 2001 Getty Preserve LA Grant, by Levin & Associates, developed the restoration plan for the historic sanctuary building. In 2005 Levin & Associates was retained to develop a master plan that would include the restoration of the historic building and a phased expansion plan on the remainder of the site that would accommodate a nursery school, administration building, joint religious/public charter school, parking for 400 cars and an event space for 500 people. In an effort to involve the staff, clergy and congregants, Levin & Associates organized five visioning charrettes that focused on defining the program needs, the character and quality of the new spaces, the identification of those spaces that should be retained, and established consensus on the goals and aspirations of reinvigorating a campus whose use has become largely ceremonial.