To anyone in LA, get thee to The Los Angeles Conservancy and sign up for the tour of the Wilshire Blvd Temple on Sunday April 27. This is going to be an amazing tour and yes, there still are tickets available.
I went for my volunteer training and got a peek, not enough time to really absorb the beauty of this building, but here are highlights – just so you’ll come.
This is a side view of the building (built in 1929), I never even got the front view, we were hustled around the building. There is a wonderful dome, I do have a picture of the interior of the dome.
The whole structure was retrofitted and improved. The original look of the building is the same. although there is new landscaping around it.
This is the Piness Auditorium, I only snapped a few images, if you think this is impressive, wait till you see the sanctuary.
Detail of decoration on the wall, sorry the images are fuzzy, this is all the more reason to come and see for yourself.
Are you getting the sense that something spectacular awaits in the main sanctuary? An incredible round room that seats 1700 people.
The dais, the Torahs are in the lighted room, and the organ is behind.
Looking straight up at the top of the dome. All this was disintegrating and falling down, they actually had tarps so that nothing would fall on the congregants heads. I had to translate the Shema, being the only Hebrew speaker in the bunch. Listen Israel, God is our Lord, God is one.
That is the high priest Aaron atop some wonderful stained glass. 
The mural that encircles the whole room was painted by Hugo Balin, he was a set designer for Warner Bros. who then moved on to painting many wonderful murals in important buildings in Los Angeles. Warner Bros – as in the actual brothers paid for this mural when the Temple was being built. This was the Temple of the stars. Here we see the sad moment where the Romans are looting the Menorah after destroying the Temple.
The memorial wall is new, designed by artist Lita Albequerque.
There are many more plans for more improvement, at the moment they already have a lot of interesting art.
Since I am always looking for the unusual and the mundane, I looked down at the floor in the hallways (probably high grade linoleum). A simple tessellating design, now look up at the air grates:
Yup, same design. I have no idea if this is old or new. Maybe a combination. I just find it extremely thoughtful when designs repeat in different materials and when they have a dialog with one another.
So there is a small taste, I hope to get more pictures on the day of the tour and I’ll have more information both of the building of the Temple and the wonderful restoration job. I hope to see some of you there.
Leah