The problem sounds like something straight from the Talmud: What is the Jewish community’s obligation when the roof of a historic former synagogue is destroyed by a tornado?
On May 16, Pastor Andre Downing was watching the news and preparing for services when he saw a storm was headed towards his church, United in Worship (UIW).
“The moment I got in the car and shut the door an enormous gust of wind hit the area,” he said. “I’m watching the traffic lights not just shake and sway but literally come out of the ground…I remember specifically seeing a van get broadsided by one of the beams.”
Downing soon discovered that most of the building’s roof was missing, as well as holes in the ceiling and windows on multiple stories that were blown out by the wind. He said seeing the destruction on the top floor for the first time was an “‘Oh my god’ kind of moment.”
A storm that changed everything
Although now it is UIW, the building was home to Temple Israel from 1907 to the mid-1960s. UIW, along with the other churches and temples near the corner of Washington Avenue and Kingshighway Boulevard formed the Holy Corners district, a St. Louis hub for interfaith relations a century ago.
Downing and his wife, whose parents purchased the building from Temple Israel, devoted their ministry to serving the community. Now they are focused entirely on covering the roof, the source of the building’s mounting structural problems. A month after the storm, part of the ceiling fell crushing several pews. Over time Downing said around 4 inches of rainwater collected at the base of the sanctuary.
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“Since the tornado, we’ve been dealing with a deluge of issues, not the least of which being that it impacted buildings in approximately 22 historic districts in the city,” said Andrew Weil, the director of the Landmarks Association of St. Louis.
Temple Israel stands out because it was the only synagogue in the Holy Corners. Weil views the building as a powerful message to the surrounding community.
“This is a presence, this is us staking a claim and saying, ‘we’re part of this community’…we’re here but we’re not going to be insular.”
Weil, along with Bill Seibert, a member of the Landmarks Association Board, was connected to Downing by Alderman Michael Browning after the tornado, with the goal that together they would have a better chance of rebuilding.
Seibert wrote the National Register nomination for the Holy Corners in 1975 and wrote that area took a “pre-eminent position in the history of religious life in St. Louis,” specifically regarding the “Holy Corners Fellowship” where members and leaders from different congregations came together to support one another.
One example was the Sunday lectures Leon Harrison, Temple Israel’s Rabbi from 1892-1928, held that according to Seibert, “did a great deal to foster the development of better relations.”
Seibert admitted that he “lost a lot of sleep” after a friend informed him about the hole in Temple Israel’s roof, and is grappling with the harm done to a building of such architectural significance.
“What was built is a magnificent example of synagogue architecture,” Seibert said. “It is a priceless part of the heritage of the Jewish Community in St Louis.”
Money troubles and red tape
Problems with restoration quickly became apparent. According to Downing the building was only insured for vandalism not “Acts of God.” Further complicating reconstruction efforts is the need for a structural engineer to examine the roof before any work can begin.
“Some of the beams are encased in cement within the brick,” Downing said, “the concern [is] any load placed upon that may cause further damage.”
After the tornado, Downing initially hoped to get financial assistance through FEMA. At first, they said he would receive a loan totaling roughly $750,000, well over what he expected. However, the situation abruptly changed when he was informed that, based on the church’s income, they did not qualify and would not receive anything.
“I found that very strange, because I would have gone for a much lower amount, but there was no one who talked to us,” he said. “This was all system-generated…we were told through the system that we didn’t qualify.”
Since then, Downing has applied for multiple other grants outside of the federal government, but he said he has yet to hear back about any of them. He is also attempting to raise money through crowdsourcing.
Alderman Michael Browning, whose ward includes the former Temple Israel building, said the federal government’s response “dialed back” response has made recovering from the tornado even more difficult.
“It seems like the federal government has helped as little as they could, and it’s leaving us in a position where neither the city nor the state is in a position to address some of the damage,” he said.
Browning said the wait for a disaster declaration stunted a potential federal response. Without that designation from the federal government, FEMA and the SBA could not accept loan applications from St. Louisans, including Downing.
Browning said he was “horrified” when he saw United in Worship for the first time after the tornado and quickly realized the importance of fixing the church as quickly as possible.
“The day that I toured, it was raining and I could see water running between the pews, which made me jump into action to try to get people together to help save this church,” he said.
To fully recover from the tornado, Browning believes the city of St. Louis must put aside their differences and tackle “one of the greatest challenges of our generation.”
Downing said the roof must be covered by the end of November to prevent further damage from potential rain and snow. Ultimately, his goal is to reopen the church so it can continue serving the community.
In the past UIW has hosted job training, resume writing and counseling for older people to make sure they get social security. Downing’s wife, a teacher by trade, held a summer school for more than 30 students, helping them get to the point where “they love learning again.” Each year around Easter they host a fish fry, which has attracted hundreds of people.
“Everything that we did was about building, serving, and educating the community,” Downing said.
Preserving a historic community
Downing also aims to rekindle the interfaith history of the Holy Corners.
“We really want to see it restored back to its former glory, and then open those doors so it serves the community, and not just our church,” he said. “I’d love to see a speaker series and various rabbis and other ministers come through, because it’s such a central location.”
Weil believes a financial solution can “flow from the history of partnership,” which has long existed within the old Temple Israel building and the Holy Corners.
“It’s a great story to tell about St Louis, because that sort of reaching across the aisle between religious organizations was occurring at a time when that wasn’t happening all that much,” he said.
Rabbi Randy Fleisher from Central Reform Congregation, the only synagogue still in St. Louis city, is located just down the street from the Holy Corners and it inspired the congregation to start an interfaith collaborative called Holy Ground. The group included St. John’s Methodist, which was part of the Holy Corners.
Preserving history is one reason to restore UIW, but for Fleisher, finding a solution is even more crucial because a congregation is currently unable to use the building.
“It should matter to all of us as human beings,” he said, “if a congregation is there doing holy worship, and they are our neighbors, we ought to be helpful and concerned.”
To Weil, recovering the structures harmed in the tornado’s wake is also an opportunity to reconnect with abandoned parts of St. Louis’s Jewish history.
“We walked away from these magnificent buildings that you could never ever replace today,” he said, “Our ancestors built these incredible places they took so much pride in.”
Ninety-three-year-old Marlita Wennerman loved the old Temple Israel building. She was confirmed in 1946 and married there in 1955. She wants people to be aware of the building’s history and take care of it, even though it is no longer a synagogue.
“We’re thankful that there’s still a congregation there [and] it hasn’t been torn down,” she said.
Every congregation that used to gather at the Holy Corners has since left. Some of the buildings are currently used to host auctions, while others are deserted. United in Worship is teetering on the brink.
“It’s not a direct relationship. The amount of time and the amount of water that get into one of these buildings, the cost of remediating those issues goes up exponentially,” Weil said.
A call to the Jewish community
He said thinking the issue no longer concerns the Jewish community because the building is now a church is a “simplistic way of looking at it,” and added that it could serve the whole community if it is restored.
“It’s not like it was knocked over. It’s not like it’s missing walls. It’s a fixable building. It’s a manageable problem. But manageable problems that involve historic buildings and water become unmanageable very, very quickly,” Weil said.
Weil said the Jewish community should rally to assist United in Worship, rebuilding a house of worship that served Jews for more than six decades, from further decay.
“Now is the time to intervene because it would be a real shonda to lose this building out of apathy,” Weil said, “this is a part of our community, this is part of our legacy.”
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