Temple Beth El, Detroit, 1920-1948
Meanwhile, in the early 1920s, Beth El was outgrowing the temple that had been constructed in 1902; the congregation had grown and many had moved north into neighborhoods such as Boston-Edison (where Franklin himself lived). In 1921, Albert Kahn was contracted as the architect for a new temple, located on Woodward and Gladstone. The new temple (now the Lighthouse Cathedral) was dedicated in November 1922. In that same year, Franklin was elected by the congregation to a life tenure.
Beth El and Franklin continued to evolve. In 1925, the By-Laws of the congregation were amended to provide that the wife of a congregation member could become a member in her own right. That same year, weekly broadcasts of services over WWJ were instituted. Franklin also wrote and published multiple books, including The Rabbi, the Man and His Message; The Road to Understanding Between Christian and Jew; and An Outline History of Congregation Beth El, Detroit, Michigan. By 1926, the congregation numbered over 1400 members.
Franklin continued to be involved in numerous activities within the congregation and beyond. He was a trustee of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and the Detroit Civic Theatre, and was on the board of the Detroit Public Library, acting as president in 1932, 1938, and 1944. He also served on the boards of the Fine Arts Society, the Board of Commerce, the Greater Detroit Motion Picture Council, the Detroit Historical Society, the Wrangler's Club, the Ford Republic, the League of Nations Association of Detroit, and the Citizens Housing and Planning Association. In addition, Franklin was active as an officer on the Michigan Humane Society for many years. He received an honorary Doctor of Law degrees from the University of Detroit (a Catholic institution) in 1923 and Wayne State University in 1939, and an honorary Doctor of Divinity from his alma mater, Hebrew Union College, in 1939.
In 1941, Franklin retired from active ministry, succeeded by B. Benedict Glazer. The Board of Trustees bestowed on him the title of "rabbi emeritus," and he continued to be involved in the congregation.
On August 8, 1948, Leo Franklin died. The archives of the Temple Beth El are named in his honor.
Read more about this topic: Leo M. Franklin
Famous quotes containing the words temple and/or beth:
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—Barbara Ehrenreich (b. 1941)
“Where beth they biforen us weren,”
—Unknown. Ubi Sunt Qui ante Nos Fuerunt? (L. 1)