B'Nai Zion Temple, Synagogue in Shreveport, Louisiana, US

B'Nai Zion Temple is a synagogue in downtown Shreveport built in the Beaux-Arts style with monumental front steps and two-story stained glass windows. The building sits along Common Street and displays the crafted quality of this architectural period through its detailed exterior elements.

The congregation using the building had been active since 1861 and constructed this temple between 1914 and 1915. The project emerged to meet the growing need of the community for a new, larger religious space.

The congregation that built the temple split in 1875 over religious traditions, when an Orthodox group formed, then reunited in 1877 and chose the Reform tradition. The building was sold to the Knights of Columbus after the congregation moved to Southfield Road in 1955.

The building stands in downtown Shreveport and is now vacant, so it can be viewed from the street on foot rather than entered. It was sold to the Knights of Columbus after the congregation moved to Southfield Road in 1955, and a private historical group bought it in 1993. Look for it along Common Street while walking the downtown blocks.

The building was sold to the Knights of Columbus after the congregation moved to Southfield Road in 1955, then bought in 1993 by a private historical group intending to preserve it for its architecture. It has stood vacant since and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1994.