Gates of Heaven Celebrates 25 Years in James Madison Park
The birthday party will be held August 11th, 1-4 pm in James Madison Park around the building. Tenney-Lapham Neighborhood Association will be hosting the party as part of their regular summer social. There will be live music, refreshments. and a free-will offering to help defray expenses.
A set of colorful banners were mounted on the building and the start of landscape and garden improvements were undertaken in late June. The City of Madison Parks Department has awarded the Gates of Heaven Steering Committee $5,000.00 in matching funds. The improved landscaping will highlight the charm of the beautiful old building and provide floral color and accommodate increases use of the east and south sides of the building. The plaque explaining the building's historical significance will be moved to a more central position.
Volunteers are needed to help with gardening and with the birthday party activities. Please call:
Gigi Holland (Tenney-Lapham) 251-8586
Jane Scharer (Old Market Place and Tenney-Lapham) 251-0850
Barbara Essock (Steering Committee and Trust for Historic Preservation) 221-2454 (the artist to whom credit goes for this illustration)
A photo display is being organized using City of Madison photos, local newspaper photos and materials from the archives of the State Historical Society. The committee is also requesting wedding pictures from the numerous nuptials held at the Gates over the past 25 years. Mail your wedding snapshots with names and date to Gates of Heaven Steering Committee, 200 North Blount Street, Madison, WI 53703. Donations are gratefully received for the gardening and party expenses. Checks may be written to "Gates of Heaven Preservation Fund" and are tax deductible. Mail to Home Savings, P.O. Box 1070, Madison, WI 53701 or to Gates of Heaven Steering Committee, 200 North Blount Street, Madison, WI 53703.
A Brief History of the Gates of Heaven
Gigi HollandTwenty-five years ago, the Gates of Heaven Synagogue faced demolition to make room for progress. A new office complex to be built on the original site located on West Washington Avenue. Concerned citizens quickly rallied to save the building by raising funds. It was successfully moved to its prominent location in James Madison Park.
For the first time, government and private citizens in Madison formed a partnership for historic preservation. Citizens, who had seen so many buildings torn down, were inspired to become active in historic preservation. Forming the Gate of Heaven Foundation, the group raised over $20,000, joined the City of Madison to obtain federal matching funds and brought the $60,000 moving project to fruition.
Historic significance
Gates of Heaven was built in 1863 from Victorian Romanesque designs by August Kutzbock, who also designed the second capitol building, for the Ahavath Achim (Brother Love) congregation of German Jewish immigrants. It was the first synagogue in Madison. It is the third oldest surviving synagogue building in the United States. In 1879, the Ahavath Achim congregation rented the building to the Unitarian Society. The building was sold in 1916, subsequent users wee a funeral parlor, government storage facility, headquarters of the Women's Christian Temperance Union, the Church of Christ, a succession of professional and business ventures including a dentist office and veterinary clinic. Today, the building is owned by the City of Madison and used as public meeting house.
Saving and Moving the Gates of Heaven
In 1970, then owner, the Fiore Coal and Oil Company, decided to demolish Gates of Heaven for a new office complex on the site at 214 West Washington Avenue. Citizens, organized by Dr. Norton and Mrs. Lois Stoler, founded the Gates of Heaven Foundation and were successful in a last minute effort to raise over $20,000 and to place the building on the National Register of Historic Places. A partnership of the City of Madison, lead by Sol Levin, and the Foundation was successful in gaining federal matching funds to complete the $60,000 moving fund. The building was successfully moved by jacking it up on 96 aircraft wheels and rolling it one mile through the downtown Madison streets to James Madison Park.