Pasadena Jewish Temple Archives Preserved at UCLA After Fire

Nearly a century of records from the Pasadena Jewish Temple and Center, destroyed in January’s Eaton fire in Altadena, are now accessible at UCLA Library, officials announced.

The blaze leveled more than 30 historic sites, including the two-acre PJTC campus, where congregants managed to save Torah scrolls but lost all other materials. Fortunately, UCLA Newsroom reported that UCLA Library had acquired the temple’s archives in 2019, amounting to 47 linear feet of documents, photographs, recordings and reports. The collection has since been processed and opened to the public.

Founded in 1921 as Temple B’nai Israel, the congregation first opened its doors in 1923. It was renamed the Pasadena Jewish Community in 1949 and became the Pasadena Jewish Temple and Center in 1956. The preserved materials span 1932 to 2019 and are housed in UCLA Library Special Collections, documenting religious, educational and community life in Pasadena’s Jewish community.

“PJTC has provided community, home and security for me and my family, and also much content and meaning to my life — a place where we care for and celebrate with each other,” said longtime member Jan Pais, who joined in 1960.

“That the collection is preserved at UCLA Library is an extraordinary blessing for our community,” said Ruth Wolman, who first attended in 1950. “Had it been at PJTC last January, all would have burned!”

“For many in the congregation,” she added, “learning about its long history, religious and youth activities, educational opportunities and community events will be a source of information, inspiration and awe.”

“For people in other religious communities and researchers, the disaster of the January 7 fire may be an impetus for their interest in PJTC,” said Wolman. “The congregation has rallied and persevered with incredible energy. Membership has increased, as has excitement about the future. The collection at UCLA, with the extensive documentation of what went into creating and sustaining such a thriving, resilient Jewish community, should serve as inspiration to others.”

Lizeth Ramírez, librarian and archivist for UCLA’s Los Angeles Communities and Cultures collections, said, “These records provide a rare look at the cultural and religious activities of the Jewish community in Pasadena from the 1930s to the present day. That we were able to acquire them and preserve them prior to the fires that ravaged the area earlier this year points to the importance of the work UCLA Library Special Collections is doing to save the history of communities throughout Southern California.”

The PJTC materials join UCLA’s broader holdings on Jewish life in Los Angeles, including oral histories recorded between 2000 and 2012 as part of the Mapping Jewish L.A. Project. Those interviews feature congregants such as former Los Angeles City Councilmember and County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky.