Tour of the Temple Beth El Prentis Memorial Library and Jampel Center, April 10, 2025
On April 10, members of the Book Club of Detroit were privileged to visit the Anna S. and Meyer L. Prentis Memorial Library at Temple Beth El in Bloomfield Hills. We also toured the Joan Meyers Jampel Center for Michigan Jewish Heritage. We enjoyed hearing “Bisels of History” — short stories about items in the archives and library — from Robbie Terman and Laura Gottlieb. Robbie Terman is the director of the Leonard N. Simons Jewish Community Archives of the Jewish Federation of Detroit, and Laura Gottlieb is Director of Cultural Resources at the Prentis Memorial Library. The Prentis Library is believed to be the oldest Jewish congregational library in Michigan.
Robbie displays a book from the collection as Laura looks on. The Jewish Federation has collected over 2 million documents related to Jewish history in Detroit and Michigan. The Jampel Center is its own archive. Together they are a “one-stop hub for research.” Research requests come to these archives from all over the world.
Abe Kushner, a member of the congregation, constructed models of synagogues from all over the world, making about 75 in all. These models are displayed at the Prentis Library. He also served as a volunteer archivist with his wife.
A model of the first Temple Beth El in Detroit.
A grouping of books in the Prentis Library.
Beautifully bound books from the Leonard N. Simons Rare Book Collection, which consists of some 9,000 volumes.
Laura explains that these majestic stained glass windows were moved from Temple Beth El’s former location on Woodward Avenue in Detroit. Built in 1922, that synagogue was designed by famed architect and congregation member Albert Kahn, who also designed the congregation’s previous 1902 home.
A closer view of a stained glass window.