Moses Montefiore Temple
Bloomington
Recipients Carol Ketchum and Peter Warshaw received the award for the reuse of Moses Montefiore Temple. Built in 1889 by local architect George Miller, this was the first Jewish Temple in central Illinois. However, by the time Peter Warshaw purchased the property in 1993, the Romanesque-style building was in need of serious repair. The original onion dome had blown off its tower in the 1970s, stained glass panels were missing, wood tracery was rotting and much more.
Now, after what Warshaw calls a “labor of love and exhaustion,” the building is now a private residence featured on the local house tour. The entire building has been repaired and includes a new roof, box gutters copper downspouts, restored onion dome and replaced or repaired wood and metal work.
The sanctuary remains as a large open living space and some of the original stencilwork has been uncovered. The family’s main living space is downstairs, but instead of a dank, dark basement it resembles a loft apartment with a custom-built kitchen and bedrooms and office fanning off a central family room.