The Main Sanctuary Temple building was built in 1909. It is the third home of the congregation. It seats approximately 1200 people and is a unique, one of a kind, sanctuary.

When it was built, it housed all of the temple's programs. Thus downstairs, in the basement, there were classrooms, a middle auditorium room, and offices for the temple's administration. Behind the ark there was a room which served as the Rabbi's study and Board meeting room.

During the course of the years, a major problem developed that undermined the use of the basement space. There was, and still is, an underground stream running under Garfield Place. On a regular basis, this stream would overflow and flood the basement thus making the rooms unusable. This was one of the reasons for the construction of the Temple House in 1929.

In the 50's the flooding problem was fixed with the invention of check valves and then a concrete slab floor was laid down in the basement with the thought that this might generate some useable space. However, the space was hardly ever used aside from being a homeless shelter for 2 years and an arts and crafts room for the Religious School and the Day Camp.

Upstairs, in the Main Sanctuary, there were also many building problems over the years. In the late forties, the central vault ceiling cracked and had to be rebuilt. When that project was undertaken the pulpit was also rebuilt with separate Rabbi's and Cantor's reading pulpits. Unfortunately, in 1980, the vaulted ceiling cracked once again. This time the vaulted ceiling was rebuilt in an innovative manner using new light weight materials which corrected the original problem. Also in the 80's the Moses stained glass window was refurbished, new seat cushions were installed, and a full painting of the Main Sanctuary was completed. However, one building problem remained uncompleted, that being, the complete collapse and disrepair of the Garfield St. entrance to the Main Sanctuary.

In 1997, under the leadership of President Jerry Spielman, the Kadimah Capital Campaign was begun. The aim of this campaign was to raise enough funds to rebuild the Garfield St. entrance, make entry into the synagogue handicapped accessible, construct new classrooms in the basement, and create a multipurpose space in the middle of the area. This has now been accomplished and we are proud of our wonderful new addition to the Main Sanctuary building.

Today, the Main Sanctuary building of the congregation, remains a focus for our major religious activities. It will also play an increasingly important part in the cultural and artistic offerings that the congregation is planning for the future.