The Jewish History Museum is located in Arizona’s first synagogue, built in 1912 in Tucson. SBBL renovated the 1,800 square foot historic house next door for a Holocaust History Center and designed a garden tying the buildings together to create a unified campus. Future plans include a Holocaust library and storage space.
The campus and exhibits present a clean divide between history on one side and what came after on the other. The force of history pervades the present, shapes it, and refuses to be compartmentalized. The individuals featured in the exhibits all experienced immeasurable loss. Many suffered mightily, and, miraculously, persevered to accomplish great things. The architecture provides flexible space for a variety of activities. The interior of the former residence was opened up to provide modern space for movable displays and classes with state of the art video systems while respecting the need for remembrance and historic significance.