10 - Temple Mishkon Tephilo  206 Main Street

10 - Temple Mishkon Tephilo

206 Main Street

In 1914, a group of Ocean Park Jews got together for the first time to hold High Holy Days service and incorporated in 1917, making the Temple Mishkon Tephilo the oldest operating synagogue on the Westside.

The growing congregation dedicated its new location in 1948. Founded as an Orthodox community, Mishkon joined the Conservative movement in 1952. It became the first Conservative synagogue in the Western United States to be led by a female rabbi in 1989.

In the 1950s and 1960s, the synagogue served as many as 1,000 local families. Venice was then a haven for Jewish retirees and families, who flocked to the beachside known as “the Coney Island of the West.” Although the neighborhood and condition of the temple have changed through the years, the indomitable spirit of the congregants remains the same.

The Temple Mishkon Tephilo became Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument #767 on 11/7/2003.