A Preservation Framework for American Jewish Built Heritage

American Jewish built heritage is the tangible legacy of historic Jewish communities, especially in small and medium-sized cities throughout the U.S. This thesis examines the importance of Jewish built heritage to Jewish communities, their cities and towns, and the American story. As an underrepresented community within the preservation sphere, this study focuses on the need for dedicated, informed and experienced access to, and application of, know-how, resources and funding. It considers components for a preservation framework to address this need through three interwoven questions. One, how does a non-contiguous approach to Jewish heritage sites (e.g., historic synagogues, legacy businesses, communal institutions and residences) help to identify, document and provide understanding of a Jewish community within a historic preservation context? Two, how do preservation planning, tools and strategies address Jewish built heritage for singular and multiple properties related to an identity-based ethnographic landscape? And three, what aspects of site interpretation contribute to establishing relatable awareness of a Jewish heritage landscape? Augusta, Georgia’s historic Jewish built environment provides a case study followed by an analysis of how preservation planning, through formal and informal processes, offers a roadmap. African American, Latinx and LGBT preservation organizations offer worthwhile models. Lastly, this thesis examines site interpretation planning and delivery for Jewish heritage landscapes, while centering the visitor experience and underscoring particular and universal significance and relevance. This study argues that, taken together, these three areas form the scaffolding for tackling the lag in the preservation of American Jewish built heritage.

Author dc:creator

• Wexler, Laurie

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Hollenberg, David

• Historic Preservation and Conservation

Licence dc:rights.uri

• https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Repository record dc:identifier.uri

https://repository.upenn.edu/handle/20.500.14332/61589.2

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:repository.upenn.edu:20.500.14332/61589.2