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Tree of Life Synagogue

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1881, Charles Hickman. 1927, Clark and Crowe, Charles Hickman. W. Pike St. immediately west of the Masonic Temple

This diminutive and sophisticated Neo-Gothic building, faced with tapestry brick, is more domestic than ecclesiastical in appearance. Originally designed by Hickman for the Central Presbyterian Church, the building was extensively remodeled and enlarged in 1927. The Lynchburg, Virginia, firm of Clark and Crowe furnished designs for this work, while Hickman was the supervising architect. In 1940 Clarksburg's Jewish community purchased the church and converted it into a synagogue. Set behind a low brick wall and approached by a curving walkway across a courtyard, the building has prominent gables, a slate roof, and a Jacobean chimney with clustered stacks. The triple lancet sanctuary windows and an applied Star of David in the apex of the gable above impart the only obvious religious connotations visible from the street.

Writing Credits

Author: 
S. Allen Chambers Jr.

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