Beth Israel in Gadsden, Alabama has closed

I recently learned that a wonderful small Jewish congregation in Gadsden, Alabama closed their doors due to a continued decline in the local Jewish population. Beth Israel was one of the synagogues featured in my cd-rom book, "American Synagogues: A Photographic Journey". Their house of worship was a beautiful classical style synagogue built in 1922 and maintained beautifully through the years. Established as a formal congregation in 1908, Beth Israel closed in 2010 bringing to an end another chapter of Alabama Jewish history and small town American jewish history. The leaders of the congregation decided to give the temple building to the city of Gadsden for use as a cultural and historical venue.