Rodef Shalom Congregation (Pittsburgh, Pa.)

Rodef Shalom is the oldest reform congregation in Pittsburgh.

Rodef Shalom Congregation is a National Register of Historic Places landmark in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, designed by architect Henry Hornbostel.[3]

Located on Fifth Avenue on the border of the Oakland and Shadyside neighborhoods, it houses Congregation Rodef Shalom, the oldest Jewish congregation in Western Pennsylvania and the largest Reform congregation in the area. Across the street from the temple is the headquarters of Pittsburgh's PBS station WQED.

On the grounds of the building is the Rodef Shalom Biblical Botanical Garden.

History
In 1847, a dozen Jewish Pittsburghers established a burial society they called Bes Almon (Mourners’ House) and purchased land on Troy Hill, on the city's North Side, for use as a cemetery.

A design competition was held and Henry Hornbostel — the architect Andrew Carnegie selected to create Carnegie Institute of Technology (now Carnegie Mellon University)—emerged the winner. Hornbostel's Beaux Arts styling merged the traditional with the modern. The double dome, 90 feet in diameter, was constructed without structural steel, instead using the Catalan vault, a Spanish vernacular style brought to the U.S. by Rafael Guastavino.[5]