Built in 1948 and inaugurated on October 23, 1949, this former synagogue replaced a wooden Hebrew school that had also served as a place of worship since 1932. The synagogue, with a rectangular floor plan, has two floors and a basement that was originally used as a community hall.
The Rouyn-Noranda synagogue is a remarkable example of Jewish architectural heritage in Quebec. Outside of Montreal, there is no other Hebrew place of worship with such an urban character and the neo-Romanesque style typical of old synagogues.
Photo credit: Paul Trépanier
The front section of the facade features the building's main religious ornaments. The portal with its bossed stone frame, the semicircular windows, the oculus decorated with a Star of David, and the date stone made of local black granite. In the lower right corner, a cornerstone, also made of black granite, pays tribute to Michael Korman, who was responsible for the construction and inauguration of the building.
Despite its small size, the Jewish community in Rouyn-Noranda included several prominent figures. Businessmen, merchants, and philanthropists participated in the founding and running of the former synagogue, which welcomed its first rabbi, Mendel W. Katz, in December 1930.
In 1939, historian Albert Leury highlighted for the first time the Jewish community's contribution to local development. This recognition was confirmed less than a decade later when the Rouyn-Noranda Hebrew Congregation undertook the construction of a new, large-scale synagogue. It was an ambitious project, but one that was well within the capabilities of its administrators, who were accustomed to leading commercial projects throughout Abitibi-Témiscamingue and Northern Ontario.
Here you can see the first synagogue built on the same site. You will notice that it was much more modest!
Photo credit: BAnQ
Look closely at the photo. Do you notice anything different about the building in front of you? Indeed, the decorative central parapet has now disappeared... probably replaced by the low hipped roof that replaced the original flat roof.
Photo credit: City of Rouyn-Noranda
Just above the entrance door, you can see an oculus with the Star of David and a date stone, two original elements of great importance.
The former Kneseth-Israël synagogue is notable for its architectural interest. Outside of Montreal, there are few Hebrew places of worship that are so urban in character and adopt the neo-Romanesque style typical of old synagogues. Designed to blend into a dense urban setting, its architectural expression is concentrated at the front and edges of its facade, where the formal treatment and ornamentation are displayed. After those in Sherbrooke (1920) and Quebec City (1951), it is the most ambitious synagogue project undertaken in Quebec outside of Montreal.
The building also has significant historical value. It offers a rare glimpse to certain groups of builders in Rouyn-Noranda, particularly the European cultural communities who, after the war, sought to pass on their building traditions and enrich the architectural landscape of their new adopted city.
- 1948 Construction
- 1949 Inauguration
- 1972 Closure, deconsecration, and sale of the building to the Noranda-Rouyn Lions Club
- 1977 Sale to a real estate owner
- 1977-1978 Conversion into a twelve-unit apartment building
- Its tight integration into the urban fabric
- Its almost total occupation of the lots surface area
- Rectangular two-story volume and gabled roof
- Its main façade with central avant-corps
- Its materials, including two colors of brick, black granite from Beaudry and stucco
- Its portal and semicircular windows
- Its oculus decorated with a stained glass window featuring a Star of David motif
- Its steps