This is the oldest synagogue in Montana still in use as a synagogue (the one in Helena is slightly older, but no longer serves as a house of worship) and this is one of only a few synagogues in the United States still in use that has the Moorish (onion-dome) architecture. Prior to its construction in 1903-04, the group worshiped in the Carpenter’s Union Hall and at the Mountain View Methodist Church.
The land was provided to the Jewish community in 1885 by the Northern Pacific Railway. Stained glass windows commemorate Elias and Mina Oppenheimer, German immigrants whose sons Joseph and Henry were partners with George Symons in Symons’ Dry Goods, a store that eventually became one of Butte’s most important department stores.
From the Butte-Anaconda National Historic Landmark District
B'Nai Israel Temple
Butte's ethnic diversity is well represented in this beautiful synagogue, dedicated in 1904. After the Jewish community split into one reform and two orthodox groups, this temple was built for use by the reform congregation. The three-storey masonry building features a corner bell tower with an onion dome roof, an ornately corbelled front gable with rosette window beneath and semi-circular brick arches. In 1969, the three groups reunited and a congregation of thirty families now worship together in the synagogue.
From the plaque at the church