Jewish Museum of Florida, Art Deco synagogue museum in South Beach, United States.
The Jewish Museum of Florida occupies two restored synagogue buildings at 301 and 311 Washington Avenue. The 1936 main building, designed by Henry Hohauser, has Art Deco features, a copper dome, a marble bimah and 80 stained glass windows. The 1929 building, Miami Beach's first synagogue, is a stucco two-story structure with a gable roof, three double doors with Spanish-style iron hinges, and a plaque reading "Beth Jacob Social Hall, 5689-1929" beneath tablets of the Ten Commandments.
The buildings were established in 1929 as Miami Beach's first synagogue when the growing Jewish community needed a permanent place to worship. Later they were transformed into a museum to preserve and display the history of Jewish life across Florida over 250 years.
The museum's core exhibit, MOSAIC: Jewish Life in Florida, grew from a traveling show sponsored by the University of Miami's Judaic Studies program and other state partners. It displays over 500 photos and artifacts tracing Jewish life in Florida since 1763. The museum also mounts temporary exhibitions and hosts cultural and educational programs for Jewish and non-Jewish visitors.
The two buildings stand side by side at 301 and 311 Washington Avenue, in the South Beach section of Miami Beach. The 1929 former synagogue at 311 holds the museum offices upstairs in what was the women's balcony on the west side. The 1936 main building at 301 is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The collection holds more than 100,000 artifacts and documents telling stories from two centuries and beyond of Jewish settlement in Florida. This archive represents one of the most complete records of how this community developed across the state over time.
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