Goodman is known as the most prolific synagogue architect of any time, any place. He defined post World War II Jewish religious architecture as a triumphant statement that the Holocaust would never happen again, or at least that it would not be forgotten. The historical tradition, with some major exceptions, of American synagogues being modest buildings, and sometimes being almost indistinguishable from churches,largely ended with Goodman.
His designs were always bold, eye-catching, using ; exaggerated Jewish symbolism on the exterior like no one before him.
An early synagogue in Baltimore suggests the direction Goodman would move in and a later synagogue in Southfield, Michigan is the culmination of his emotional,masculine,aggressive style.
It is not surprising that he did many buildings for Reform synagogues as those congregations are perceived as those most open to change. And the Baltimore Hebrew is reform. But Shaarey Zedek is conservative, and his Fifth Avenue Synagogue (photograph to be shown in later blog) is Orthodox, and these are the most traditional Jews who, at least in the US, are not known for their concern for cutting edge architectural statements.
First two photographs are of Baltimore Hebrew,built shortly after World War II. Shaarey Zedek dates to early 1960s.
Architecture,public art, and history 