About Wilshire Boulevard Temple

Wilshire Boulevard Temple is many things:

• A center for Jewish spirituality and celebration.
• A place to explore the wisdom and power of our religious legacy.
• A place for lifelong learning and friendship.
• An involved congregation where every person makes a difference.

What makes Wilshire Boulevard Temple special?

One of our country’s most highly respected Reform congregations, Wilshire Boulevard Temple has been responding to the needs of the Los Angeles Jewish community since 1862.

As Congregation B’nai B'rith, we were the first synagogue in Los Angeles. In 1872, we built our first Temple on Fort Street (now Broadway Avenue) in downtown Los Angeles. As membership increased, the congregation moved to a larger structure at Ninth and Hope Streets in 1895.

Continued growth brought us to Wilshire Boulevard in 1929, which resulted in the change to our current name. Our magnificent synagogue entered the United States Register of Historic Places in 1984.

In response to the needs of our growing families, we founded Camp Hess Kramer in Malibu in 1952, and in 1969, Gindling Hilltop Camp. To provide year-round educational and retreat facilities for our adults, we built the Steve Breuer Conference Center at Camp Hess Kramer in 1988.

Ten years later, we responded to membership growth in the West Los Angeles area by dedicating our beautiful, modern Audrey and Sydney Irmas Campus, which serves as an educational, worship, cultural and community center.

Currently, we are undergoing a major renovation and redevelopment project at our historic 3.9-acre Temple Campus that includes the restoration of the magnificent Magnin Sanctuary, and a social services center along Sixth Street that will be home to the largest food pantry of any synagogue in the United States. The project also includes the renovation and construction of new school buildings, a parking structure, athletic and celebration facilities. We’re building a vibrant Jewish village for us and for our neighbors in the heart of Los Angeles.    

Our Temple looks forward to providing liberal Jewish inspiration and resources to future generations of Jews in Los Angeles, just as it has to those past and present.