Temple Beth El is the oldest building continuously used for Jewish worship in Alabama. Anniston's Reform Jewish congregation was established in 1888. Its women's organization, the Ladies Hebrew Benevolent Society, directed the construction of the building in 1893. They raised the money, purchased the lot, organized the building committee of men in the congregation, and named the house of worship Beth El or House of God. Sales of handiwork enabled the women to purchase the stained glass windows. A trio of arched windows, emphasized by decorative brickwork and the domed tower, suggest the influence of ancient Byzantine architecture on the temple, which was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.
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