Temple Beth Zion

Buffalo, United States

Open to visitors

The interior is normally open, possibly ticketed.

Strollie cannot guarantee access — always check before you travel.

Find out more

Temple Beth Zion, a Reform Jewish synagogue at 805 Delaware Avenue in Buffalo, New York, was completed in 1966 from a design by architect Max Abramovitz. Built for a congregation founded in 1850 and reorganized as Reform in 1863, the building is a striking example of Brutalist and modern architecture constructed in limestone. Its distinctive scalloped oval form features ten scallop walls—each symbolizing one of the Ten Commandments—and two 30-foot-high commandment tablets designed by artist and calligrapher Ben Shahn, who also created the stained-glass windows and menorah. The sanctuary walls rise 45 feet from the entrance, flaring outward at 15 degrees and anchored to a pedestal 50 feet below ground. The interior houses a notable Casavant Frères organ with 48 ranks and 4,000 pipes. The synagogue was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2018, within the Delaware Avenue Historic District, and adjoins the Benjamin and Dr. Edgar R. Cofeld Judaic Museum.