208 Madrona Street
Chula Vista, California

Sam Moskowitz, President of the Chula Vista synagogue Temple Beth Shalom sent information to the Bloom Archives in a letter dated February 8, 1995. In his letter, Mr. Moskowitz wrote that " In 1958, a group of Jewish families who were scattered within a mixed population in the City of Chula Vista (California) wanted a place to give our children a Jewish education and a place to worship. The group of families got together and purchased a church. We renovated it ourselves and had it consecrated as a synagogue--Temple Beth Shalom, a Conservative Synagogue."

Mr. Moskowitz also gives us an idea of the growth of the Jewish community in the San Diego area. He wrote that in 1958 there three synagogies in the City of San Diego area; one Orthodox, one Conservative, and one Reform. Now, he says, there are almost twenty synagogues in the San Diego County.

Hanukkiah located in front of the synagogue, photographed on the eighth night of Hanukkah, 1994.