1953–1954, Bloch and Hesse. 300 W. Lea Blvd.
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Beth Emeth Synagogue (Courtesy of the Delaware Historical Society)
Founded in 1905, Temple Beth Emeth was Wilmington's first Jewish reform congregation. It occupied a site at 904 Washington Street from 1908 to 1954, when it joined the general migration to the suburbs. As with most International Style buildings, traditional ornament is dispensed with, and, instead, simple geometric masses interact in complex ways. The New York City architects used long, thin pieces of tan-colored sandstone called Adirondack ashlar—never before seen in Delaware—plus blue stone from Binghamton, New York. Roofs are of reinforced concrete. The interior is paneled in oak, and the stained glass is by D'Ascenzo Studios, Philadelphia. Alterations by a Maryland firm, Levin/Brown and Associates, began in 2006.