[Source: Rebecca I. Allen, Arizona Republic] -- Raul Bencomo has lived in central Phoenix all his 13 years and until working on a historical documentary he never knew a building on Culver St. was the Valley's first synagogue. "I thought it was an old abandoned house, until I got involved," Bencomo said. He was among 10 eighth-graders from Kenilworth Elementary School in Phoenix who spent the last three months making a documentary about the Culver St. Synagogue that has housed three denominations since 1922. They learned about the diverse cultures in their own community and hope their efforts make an impression on the world. "Three religions all prayed under the same roof," said Daniella Gallegos, 13. "Diversity is important. It's not only your culture, it's many others."The Arizona Jewish Historical Society will unveil the film, and four cornerstone plaques commemorating the building's history, on Wednesday. The 10-minute film will air on know99 Television, available in Phoenix, Tempe and Glendale, at a yet-to-be-determined date. The historical society got a $10,000 grant from the History Channel's Save Our History program for the project. They opted to partner with Kenilworth, which opened in 1920, because of its close ties to past congregations. The synagogue, once home to Congregation Beth Israel (then Temple Beth Israel), also housed the area's first Chinese Baptist church and a Mexican Baptist church.
The historical society started a fund-raising campaign eight month ago to raise $4 million to renovate the synagogue, now called the Cutler Plotkin Jewish Heritage Center, and surrounding cottages into a museum, archive and educational center. So far it has raised $1.6 million above the $540,000 it spent to purchase the property in 2002. The society has applied for historical designations from both Phoenix and the State Historic Preservation Office. Lawrence Bell, the society's executive director, said it plans to start the renovation in 2007 and it will take two to three years to complete. "It would be very hard for somebody to watch the video and not appreciate the value of what we're doing to restore the building," Bell said.
Since 2003, Save Our History has given $250,000 a year in grants for local history projects. This year, students around the country have used the money to take unique approaches in preserving their local history, such as: replanting an 18th century orchard in Baltimore; re-creating the infamous 1865 theft of North Carolina's copy of the Bill of Rights in Raleigh; and discovering traces of segregation on a walking tour of a Miami neighborhood. "It's exciting to see how working on local history, being a researcher or videographer, makes history come alive for kids," said Mark Aronson, author and Save Our History spokesperson. "History isn't just memorizing, it's not an abstract test, but really learning who you are and where you come from."
[Note: To read the full article, click here. Photo of 1926 Seder celebration courtesy of Arizona Jewish Historical Society.]
