The largest synagogue in the world occupies a prominent corner on New York City’s Fifth Avenue across from Central Park. Surprisingly, it has not achieved the acclaim of comparable Manhattan architectural landmarks, such as Grand Central Terminal or Saint Patrick’s Cathedral. Designed by Kohn, Butler, and Stein and completed in 1930, Temple Emanu-El features an imposing limestone facade, marked by a magnificent stained-glass wheel window by Oliver Smith, behind which resides a soaring, 103-foot-high, clear-span basilica, clad in Siena marble and enriched with glass mosaics and gold tiles. The ornamentation is masterful: red, green, and yellow columns with individually distinct capitals support the side galleries; steel trusses with exposed rafters and tie beams spanning the ceiling are covered in plaster and also painted rich reds, blues, greens, and yellows. The room, which seats 2,500, is flanked by the equally stunning Beth-El Chapel. More intimate in scale, it is distinguished by two domes resting on granite columns.
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