Trinidad, Colorado - A Historic Building Survey
Temple Aaron Building
Map location #41.
"Congregation Aaron ... is a pioneer, historic and unique." This observation from the Statement of Appreciation from the Union of American Hebrew Congregations to Congregation Aaron is well founded in facts. The founders were of the first to wind across the pass to the slopes on which Trinidad would be built. In the original membership were people who contributed to the building of the city and of the state. The membership included the following: S. Jaffa, S.H. Jaffa, S. Sanders, H. Biernbaum D. Gottlieb, H. Jaffa, A. Rosenwald, J. Sanders, and H. Moses. Leopold Freudenthal, was the Rabbi in 1889 when the synagogue was built and remained as Rabbi until 1916.
Some members provide direct links to the past. Leo Gottlieb, Albert Moses and the late Gilbert Sanders are sons of the founding fathers. As children, Albert Moses and Leo Gottlieb attended the cornerstone laying in 1889.
J. H. Rapp superintended the building of the Synagogue. The eclecticism of the Victorian age is illustrated in the mixture of elements of style. There are Moslem minarets, a German tower, and Romanesque Gothic windows. The original stained glass windows are still intact. The interior contains the hand carved pulpit and the organ which were brought to Temple Aaron by wagon train.
The photograph is a recent one.
Legal Description: Northeast corner of Lot 4; Block 53; 90 feet running thence westwardly; South line at Third Street.
