Rodeph Shalom Synagogue

Philadelphia

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Home to the oldest Jewish Ashkenazi congregation in the US, Rodeph Shalom is one of the most beautiful pieces of religious architecture in Philadelphia. The 1927 building, designed by Simon & Simon, features Babylonian and Assyrian patterns on its exterior, while the spectacular domed interior is a riot of stenciled mosaics, gilt and stained glass with Byzantine and Moorish allusions.

Historians bemoan the fact that a Frank Furness–designed synagogue was torn down in the 1920s to create this building. Photos of the Furness building hang in the synagogue's contemporary main entrance, added in 2015, which also includes an interesting Museum of Jewish Art.

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