Wender·Vista
Temple Israel
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileUnited States
in the Longwood district of Boston

Temple Israel

— — the light a sanctuary keeps long after the service ends.

— Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.
— On the nightstand, a 6-inch on a walnut stand
— Among the books, a 6-inch leaning into the spines
— Beside the kettle, a 12-inch propped
— Down a quiet hall, an 18-inch floating off the wall
— Above the fire, the 24-inch in a walnut surround
— a note from the studio

“A Reform congregation in Boston's Longwood district, founded in 1854 by German Jewish families and now one of the oldest and largest Reform synagogues in New England. The Meeting House on Riverway is dome-roofed and limestone-clad, set back from the road behind a small lawn. On Friday nights the sanctuary fills with the slow rise of Shabbat song; on weekday afternoons the building is quieter, a few people in the chapel, the late sun coming through the high east windows. from the studio

from the studio
Temple Israel
— bring it home

Temple Israel, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?
One tile — square or rectangle.
How big?
the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand
6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb
Surface finish
A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.
How it sits
A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.
$58
Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.
— size
6 × 6 in
15 cm
— weighs
1.6 lb
solid in the hand
— surface
ceramic, hand-finished
art rests beneath a thin glossy finish
— from
Knoxville, TN
our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies
— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

— about Temple Israel

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.
— the place

Temple Israel of Boston was founded in 1854 as Congregation Adath Israel by a group of German Jewish immigrants, making it one of the oldest Jewish congregations in New England. It moved to its current home on the Riverway in 1928, a domed limestone building designed by Boston architect Joseph Krieger. A modern addition known as the Riverway House was completed in 1973. The congregation today numbers around 1,650 households and is affiliated with the Union for Reform Judaism. The main sanctuary, the Meeting House, sits at the edge of Olmsted's Emerald Necklace park system.

— the stone

The 1928 building is Indiana limestone over a steel frame, with a low central dome and a colonnaded entrance facing the Riverway. The design carries the restrained Neoclassical idiom common to Reform synagogues of the period, when American congregations leaned away from Eastern European ornament toward civic architecture. The 1973 Riverway House addition by architects The Architects Collaborative — the practice Walter Gropius helped found — extends the campus westward in poured concrete and brick, joining old and new across a small interior courtyard.

— the visit

The Meeting House is open for Shabbat services on Friday evenings and Saturday mornings, with weekday morning minyan in the smaller chapel. The congregation publishes its service schedule and visitor policies on its website; the building is accessible by the MBTA Green Line at Longwood, a few minutes' walk across the Riverway. The temple's archive, held jointly with the American Jewish Historical Society — New England Archives, contains records dating to the 1850s, including the original constitution signed by the founding 38 families.

— informed by Temple Israel — visit
— where
United States · Boston, Massachusetts
— position
42.3398° N · 71.1041° W
— the neighborhood

What's nearby.

A handful of named places within an hour's walk or short drive. Some we've already painted; some we will.
0.1 km E
Emerald Necklace
park system
0.5 km S
Longwood Medical Area
hospital district
1.5 km NE
Fenway Park
baseball stadium
N
Temple Israel
Emerald Necklace
Longwood Medical Area
Fenway Park
— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Temple Israel — and about bringing the piece home.
— about the place

The congregation was founded in 1854 as Adath Israel by 38 German Jewish families, making it one of the oldest Jewish congregations in New England and the largest Reform congregation in the region today.

At 477 Longwood Avenue, on the Riverway in Boston's Longwood district, at the edge of the Emerald Necklace park system. The MBTA Green Line stops at Longwood, a short walk across the parkway.

Reform Judaism. The congregation is affiliated with the Union for Reform Judaism and has been a leading Reform community in New England since the late nineteenth century.

The 1928 Meeting House was designed by Boston architect Joseph Krieger in a Neoclassical idiom with a low central dome and Indiana limestone cladding. The 1973 Riverway House addition was by The Architects Collaborative.

Yes. Shabbat services on Friday evening and Saturday morning are open to the public; visitors are asked to check the congregation's website for current security and registration policies before attending.

Around 1,650 member households, making Temple Israel of Boston the largest Reform synagogue in New England and one of the largest Reform congregations in the United States.

— about the piece in your home

It carries well for someone with a long tie to the Meeting House — a board member's retirement, a B'nei Mitzvah, a clergy thank-you. The Small or Medium with a handwritten note from the studio is the usual choice.

The limestone-and-stained-glass palette settles into Traditional, Transitional, and warm Mid-century rooms. It also reads well in study and library interiors built around walnut, brass, and book spines.

Biophilic and contemplative design has widened past forest imagery to include sacred and architectural light. The Temple Israel tile, weighted toward sanctuary glow, fits that quieter end of the trend.

A single Large reads from across the room and anchors a sofa wall. A 4-tile Mural fills a wider span, and a 9-tile Mural is the choice for tall foyers, stairwells, or a sukkah-side hallway.

Yes. Choose the Dura Satin or Matte finish for any humid or vertical install: backsplashes, shower walls, powder rooms. The colour lives inside the ceramic surface and is unaffected by steam.

A soft microfibre cloth and water. No abrasives, no ammonia-based sprays. The thin glossy finish wipes clean of cooking residue or bathroom spray without conditioning.

Yes. Every WenderVista tile is original work from our studio in Knoxville, Tennessee. Nothing is licensed in or sub-contracted out. Reid chooses each place that enters the atlas.

— if this one stayed with you

A few you might also love.

Hand-picked by the eye that found Sorapis. Same air, same kind of quiet.