One year ago, Congress defunded public media. Now that we're 100% community funded, please become a sustaining member or increase your existing membership today.
Eaton Fire destroys campus of Pasadena Jewish Temple and Center
The Pasadena Jewish Temple & Center burns during the Eaton fire in Pasadena on Jan. 7, 2025.
(
Josh Edelson
/
AFP via Getty Images
)
The photograph is devastating, especially for those who know the building: flames engulfing a building framed by Spanish mission revival arches.
“Though some of the exterior walls are standing for all intents and purposes, our entire campus has been lost,” Rabbi Jill Gold Wright, the center’s director of education, told LAist.
The Eaton Fire destroys buildings at the Pasadena Jewish Temple and Center.
(
Mario Tama
/
Getty Images
)
The center includes multiple buildings that house the sanctuary, as well as a social hall, classrooms for the Louis B. Silver Religious School for youth, and staff offices.
“Fortunately, we were able to rescue all our sacred Torah scrolls from the sanctuary, from the chapel, and from the classrooms,” said Cantor Ruth Berman Harris.
Fortunately, we were able to rescue all our sacred Torah scrolls from the sanctuary, from the chapel, and from the classrooms.
— Cantor Ruth Berman Harris
Those 13 Torah scrolls, parchment with Hebrew text of what’s known outside Judaism as the Old Testament, are used and read from at different times of the year, including weekly on Shabbat.
Sponsored message
According to L.A. County records, the building was built in 1932 and sits on a 91,000-square-foot parcel of land.
Pasadena Jewish Temple and Center, a brief history.
- The congregation traces its roots to 19th century Jewish residents of Pasadena. Official incorporation of Temple B’nai Israel of Pasadena by the State of California happened in 1921.
- In the 1940's the congregation purchased its current home, a Mission revival building.
- In 1956 the congregation changed its name to the Pasadena Jewish Temple and Center.
- Rock singer David Lee Roth had his Bar Mitzvah in the center In the 1970s.
- In the late 1990s and 2010s the congregation merged with synagogues in Sunland-Tujunga and Arcadia.
- In 2014 it became the first Conservative congregation to employ a transgender rabbi when it hired Becky Silverstein as education director.
(Source: PJTC web site and the San Gabriel Valley Tribune.)
It’s unclear how many other properties surrounding the synagogue were destroyed by the Eaton Fire. The congregation includes more than 400 families.
The center’s leaders said “many” congregants lost their homes in the current fires and others in their community have opened up their homes to house them.
The ark that houses Torahs at the Pasadena Jewish Temple and Center during religious services in 2024.
(
Pasadena Jewish Temple and Center YouTube channel
)
That logistical work, making sure people are safe and housed, is taking up their time now. Followed by their commitment to rebuild the structures that have burned down.
Other L.A. landmarks and special places destroyed by these fires: Read the list here.
Sponsored message
Do you have a question about the wildfires or fire recovery?
Check out LAist.com/FireFAQs to see if your question has already been answered. If not, submit your questions here, and we’ll do our best to get you an answer.
_
Fire resources and tips
If you have to evacuate
- Cheat sheet: Your very short guide to getting packed up right now to evacuate
- Cheat sheet: A very short guide for how to leave your house if you need to evacuate
If you have more time:
Things to consider
- Evacuation terms can be confusing. Here’s what they mean and how to sign up for alerts
- This is why fire officials don't want you to stay and defend your home
Navigating fire conditions
- Cheat sheet: Your very short guide to driving in high winds and fire danger
- High winds and fires mean power outages. Here's how to prep
How to help yourself and others
- Resources for SoCal fire victims, evacuees and first responders
- What to do — and not do — when you get home after a wildfire
- If you want to help fire victims, resist the urge to volunteer
Understanding how it got this bad
One year ago, Congress voted to defund public media, eliminating a critical $1.7 million from our budget every year going forward. But they couldn’t silence us, and we’re not going anywhere. LAist is now 100% community funded and that means we’re taking our future into our own hands and turning to you to keep local reporting strong.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
