NEWS: Jewish Community Foundation provides grant to Breed Street Shul Project, Inc. (posted 9/22/04)
This summer, the Jewish Community Foundation (JCF) announced $300,000 worth of grants for building projects at Jewish institutions around the City of Los Angeles. The Shul received a $50,000 grant for completion of seismic retrofit, hazardous materials removal, and stained glass window restoration efforts. We would like to thank JCF for their support.
To learn more about the JCF grants, please click here.
NEWS: Yiddishkayt LA: October 10, 2004 (posted 9/15/04)
Please click here to read Jewish Historical Society President Steve Sass' letter regarding the October 10, 2004 event taking place at the Breed Street Shul as part of the YiddishkaytLA activities.
Happy New Year! NEWS: ACTION ALERT: MAYOR HAHN'S PROPOSED CITY BUDGET SLASHES L.A.'S PRESERVATION PROGRAM (posted 5/6/04) The Jewish Historical Society of Southern California and the Breed Street Shul Project request your immediate help to ensure that Mayor Hahn's proposed 2004-5 budget does not completely devastate Los Angeles' historic preservation program. NEWS: PRESERVELA UPDATE: SAVE CULTURAL HERITAGE (posted 4/27/04) An online petition to save the Los Angeles Cultural Affair's Department historic preservation program from the recently proposed budget cuts has been started. Budget hearings started this week, so if you support the effort, be sure to sign the online petition. It only takes 10 seconds! www.preservela.com/archives/2004_04.html
The budget proposes to eliminate all but one staff position from the Cultural Affairs Department's historic preservation program and transfer this single remaining position to the Planning Department, along with the five-member Cultural Heritage Commission. Presently, the preservation program has three full-time staff members, plus several staff members who provide part-time support on crucial preservation projects.
The Cultural Heritage Commission oversees the designation and protection of over 750 Historic-Cultural Monuments (local landmarks), including the Breed Street Shul (Historic-Cultural Monument #359) and several other landmarks of significance to local Jewish history. There is no doubt that the Breed Street Shul would have been demolished without the City’s historic preservation program. The Cultural Affairs Department's historic preservation division also administers the Mills Act program, a property tax incentive for owners of historic properties that is the only meaningful financial incentive for historic preservation at the local level. Over 180 historic property owners participate in the Mills Act program, which has helped to spur the adaptive reuse that is fueling housing and economic regeneration citywide. Under these draconian cuts, the Mills Act program simply could not continue, and the City's oversight of our most cherished historic sites would be lax, at best.
In contrast, the City of New York's Landmarks Commission has a staff of over 50. Pasadena, a city about 1/20th the size of Los Angeles, has a staff of six for its preservation program. Los Angeles, a city of nearly 4,000,000 residents, may soon match the preservation staffing of the City of Vernon, a tiny industrial city of only 91 residents!
While the City of Los Angeles is facing its most dire budget outlook in recent memory, it continues to pass up the opportunity to attract outside dollars to help pay for its preservation program. Los Angeles remains the only large city in California not to participate in the "Certified Local Government" program of the National Park Service and the State Office of Historic Preservation, making the city ineligible for State and Federal funds to support historic preservation planning. When he ran for office in 2001, Mayor Hahn promised in an interview with the Los Angeles Conservancy to support the single ordinance change necessary to have Los Angeles become a CLG: all that is needed is to pass a proposed amendment, introduced more than two years ago by Councilmember Cindy Miscikowski, requiring that at least two of the five Cultural Heritage Commissioners have a background in architecture, planning, history, or related fields: a standard today's Cultural Heritage Commission already meets! Yet, the current administration has failed to move forward with this ordinance.
What You Can Do...To Preserve Preservation in the City of Los Angeles
The City Council's Budget and Finance Committee is about to begin hearings on the Mayor's budget proposals, and may recommend changes to the full City Council. It's critical that you immediately contact your Councilmember and the five members of the Budget and Finance Committee: Bernard Parks, Cindy Miscikowski, Eric Garcetti, Tony Cardenas, and Greig Smith. E-mail links to all Councilmembers are available from this page: http://www.laconservancy.org/issues/councilmember_email.php4
Please copy the Jewish Historical Society of Southern California (jhsociety@aol.com) and the Los Angeles Conservancy (info@laconservancy.org) on your correspondence.
The Council phone numbers now correspond to their Council District numbers, as follows:
District 1: Ed Reyes, (213) 473-7001
District 2: Wendy Greuel, (213) 473-7002
District 3: Dennis Zine, (213) 473-7003
District 4: Tom LaBonge, (213) 473-7004
District 5: Jack Weiss, (213) 473-7005
District 6: Tony Cardenas, (213) 473-7006
District 7: Alex Padilla, (213) 473-7007
District 8: Bernard Parks, (213) 473-7008
District 9: Jan Perry, (213) 473-7009
District 10: Martin Ludlow, (213) 473-7010
District 11: Cindy Miscikowski, (213) 473-7011
District 12: Greig Smith, (213) 473-7012
District 13: Eric Garcetti, (213) 473-7013
District 14: Antonio Villaraigosa, (213) 473-7014
District 15: Janice Hahn, (213) 473-7015
Thank you for your help!
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Dear Friend,
Please join Jewish Historical Society/Breed Street Shul Project on Sunday, April 9, for a special celebration in partnership with Chamber Music in Historic Sites/The Da Camera Society.
That day, Cuarteto Latinoamericano -- based in Mexico City and Miami - will appear at Breed Street Shul, 247 N. Breed Street, Boyle Heights at 12:30 p.m. at a mini-concert to play "Sueños de Sefarad," a brief work written for them by David Stock and based on four Ladino themes. Cellist Eric Han will provide 15-minute performances at the Shul at 1 p.m., 1:30 p.m., 2:00 p.m. and 2:30 p.m., alternated with the Breed Street Shul Project video and tours of the Shul from noon to 3 p.m. These events are free and open to the public. For more information, call (323) 761-8950 or email JHSociety@aol.com.
At Tamayo Restaurant, Curarteto Latinoamericano will offer two performances (2:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m.) of Latin American quartets, including music by two Latin American Jewish composers (Osvaldo Golijov and Gabriela Lena Frank). For more information on tickets for the Tamayo concert and associated activities, which also include a reception at a nearby art gallery and the opportunity to order dinner after the concert, call 213-477-2929, or visit www.dacamera.org/events/april9.html.
I look forward to seeing you Sunday, April 9.
L'shalom,
Stephen J. Sass President
5/10/06:
Please click here to read the Jewish Journal article about the Cuarteto Latinoamericano’s wonderful visit to the Breed Street Shul on Sunday, April 9, 2006 (Posted: 05/10/06)!
JOIN US AT BIG SUNDAY - NEXT SUNDAY, MAY 7
It's another Big Sunday at the Breed Street Shul. Join us next Sunday, May 7, from 1-3 p.m. in Boyle Heights as we build bridges on Breed Street again this year as part of Big Sunday '06, L.A.'s Annual Day of Service. Come join the fun!
We need volunteers for two projects that day:
1. Help us welcome and show people the Shul and also help with some gardening and exterior clean up.
2. Help put on a party for our neighbors, Cesar Chavez House (the former Mount Sinai Clinic building), a shelter serving homeless families:
You can sign up by emailing us at jhsociety@aol.com, or directly on the Big Sunday website, http://www.bigsunday.org/aboutus.htm. We're grateful to David Levinson and all the other wonderful people at Temple Israel of Hollywood and supporting organizations for putting on this amazing day of community service each year.
I look forward to seeing you next Sunday.
Shabbat shalom,
Steve
Stephen J. Sass President
P.S. In case you didn't see this week's Jewish Journal article about the Cuarteto Latinoamericano's wonderful visit to the Breed Street Shul:
http://www.jewishjournal.com/home/preview.php?id=15774
NEWS: Please join us for Tu B’Shvat Arbor Day, Tree Planting at historic Temple Beth Israel in Highland Park on Sunday, February 26. Please click here to learn more about this special family-oriented event, cosponsored by the Jewish Historical Society (Posted 3/3/06)
NEWS: We are proud to announce that the JHS annual meeting will take place on Thursday, January 19 at the Skirball Cultural Center. Please click here to view the annual meeting flyer (Posted 1/05/06)
NEWS: Exhibition-Related Program (Posted 10/05/05)
Sacred Spaces Historic Houses of Worship in the City of Angels
Preserving Los Angeles: Buildings, Congregations, Communities Tuesday, November 1, 7:30 p.m. Free. No Reservations necessary Located at the Skirball 2701 N. Sepulveda Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90049
(310) 440-4500
This panel discussion will examine, from both historical and practical perspectives, the significance of preservation within the continually changing landscapes of Los Angeles. Moderated by Frances Anderton, host of DnA: Design and Architecture and producer of To the Point and Which Way, LA?, all broadcast on 89.9 KCRW and KCRW.com. Panelists include Brenda Levin, President and Principal of Levin & Associates Architects; Rev. Dr. Frank Alton, Pastor of Immanuel Presbyterian Church; Stephen J. Sass, President of the Jewish Historical Society of Southern California; and attorney Susan Brandt Hawley.
Co-organized by the Skirball, the Getty Conservation Institute, the Jewish Historical Society of Southern California, and the Los Angeles Conservancy. Also presented in conjunction with the Los Angeles Conservancy’s education initiative Curating the City: Wilshire Boulevard.
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Scholars and students of American Jewish history will convene in Charleston, South Carolina, June 5-7, 2006, to explore new developments in this burgeoning field. The conference program, registration form, and accommodations information all are now available online at: http://www.cofc.edu/~jwst/pages/biennial_scholars.htm
In the plenary session, a panel of historians from across the country will discuss the usefulness of the concept of regions for American Jewish history. Other session highlights include:
Ø Roundtable on the Eldridge Street Project Ø "The Jewish Woman in America" after Thirty Years Ø City Jews, Country Jews Ø Changing American Jewish Identities
A special performance of "Gershwin in Charleston: Selections from 'Porgy and Bess'" will be staged on Monday evening, June 5, at historic Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim. Tuesday's panels and presentations will conclude with a field trip to Middleton Plantation and a Southern Jewish feast, served with commentary by ethnographers and chefs.
Sponsored by the American Jewish Historical Society, the American Jewish Archives, and the College of Charleston, the 2006 Scholars' Conference coincides with the Spoleto Arts Festival, one of the country's premier celebrations of the performing and visual arts. Participants who arrive on Sunday, June 4, will be treated to "A World of Jewish Culture"-a full program of concerts, performances, and film.
We hope you can come!
For more information, please contact:
Dale Rosengarten, Ph.D. Program Chair, 2006 Biennial Scholars' Conference on American Jewish History Special Collections, Addlestone Library College of Charleston Charleston, S.C. 29424 tel: 843.953.8028 fax: 843.953.8019 e-mail: rosengartend@cofc.edu
or:
Enid R. Idelsohn Administrator, Yaschik/Arnold Jewish Studies Program College of Charleston 96 Wentworth Street, Room 215 Charleston, S.C. 29424 tel: 843.953.3918 fax: 843.953.7624 e-mail: idelsohne@cofc.edu
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Register Now for 2006 Biennial Scholars' Conference on American Jewish History |
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We had a very successful Mitzvah Day this year at the Breed Street Shul! Members of Temple Aliyah in Woodland Hills gathered at the shul on Sunday, November 5, 2006 along with Clean N’ Green, a volunteer group serving southern California, to pull weeds, sweep, pick up trash, and garden around the perimeter of the building! Thanks to all our volunteers for your help! We look forward to the next Mitzvah Day. Stay tuned for upcoming announcements. (Posted: 11/27/06) |