Swapping a synagogue for a school: Auckland Jewry makes a brave move

By Deborah Stone on Plus 61J Media…

DEBORAH STONE returns to her childhood community as it abandons its heritage synagogue for a school-focused site.

I was too young to have a vocabulary for architecture when the Auckland Hebrew Congregation (AHC) moved into the monumental Greys Avenue synagogue in 1968. But I remember the light.

As a pre-schooler, I peered into the dim recesses of the old synagogue from the women’s gallery to watch my father sing haftorah.

Then we moved to the magnificent edifice designed by architect John Goldwater with its 360° clerestory windows and shining three-dimension bubble glass Star of David chandelier. The ark was a modernist marvel, carved with the 10 commandments and abstracted symbols of the 12 tribes in Hinuera stone, a volcanic material both indigenous to New Zealand and evocative of Jerusalem stone….

Read the full story on Plus 61J Media here.