From the ashes, a forgotten mural — and a new mystery for a Pasadena synagogue
Pasadena Jewish Temple and Center congregants say it depicts Jews wandering the desert. For some, the symbolism is uncanny.
The mural was concealed by sheetrock, and later bookshelves, in a building being used as preschool offices. Photo by Louis Keene
By Louis Keene January 16, 2025
Louis Keene is covering the fires in Los Angeles, where he is based. Follow him on X for live updates.
PASADENA – In the days following a fire, focus often turns to treasures lost — homes, landmarks, keepsakes — or saved, like Torah scrolls, family menorahs or precious books. At Pasadena Jewish Temple and Center, the century-old synagogue whose campus burned down last week in the Eaton Fire, the community is also buzzing about one that was discovered: A mural, previously hidden and long forgotten, revealed by the inferno on one of the only walls that remained standing on the property.
Spanning the second story of a building that once housed a custodial residence, the mural has lost its color, but enough detail remains to suggest the outlines of a scene. Visible are the figures of at least a dozen men and women, animals including a pair of cattle and a feline, assorted pottery and — its most distinctive feature — a palm tree. Congregants have surmised that it depicts Jews wandering the desert.
“We had no idea that that was there,” said Phil Callahan, a past president of the synagogue. “It’s a total mystery.”
The current president, Jack Singer, said the synagogue hopes to try to preserve the mural in some way. In the meantime, a congregant suited to investigating its provenance has assumed the role of lead detective. Kristine Garroway, a professor at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion who specializes in biblical archaeology, plans to spend the coming months figuring out who made the mural and when.
A few other synagogue artifacts outlasted the blaze, among them a Creation-themed mosaic designed by one congregant and an iron entry gate with Stars of David welded on by another. They are survivors of catastrophe, physical memories of the synagogue that stood here until Jan. 7, 2025. But the mural is not only a surprising link to Pasadena Jewish Temple and Center before the fire, which Singer said destroyed the homes of at least 20 synagogue families. It is also, undeniably, a product — and a symbol — of the fire itself.
“We certainly are going to be on a journey to rebuild,” Singer said. “So there is some meaning to it for us.”
According to Singer, the building — one of four on campus — was divided into two sections. The northern portion, whose northern interior wall featured the mural, had held a library, but was being used as an office for the Jewish preschool. The southern half of the space contained an apartment where previous custodians had lived.
Callahan said the synagogue had planned to renovate the apartment so the current custodian, who lived there as a child when his father had the job, could move in. That custodian, Robert Brown, Jr. — who helped rescue the synagogue’s Torah scrolls the night of the fire — hadn’t been aware of the mural.
“When the fire occurred, I guess it burned away the sheetrock that was covering the mural and exposed it,” said Singer.
It was too early to say whether the mural could be restored, much less play a role in the rebuilt synagogue. But the first step would undoubtedly be to take it all in. Before it was obscured by drywall and bookshelves, the mural wall could only have been viewed indoors. Now, framed by exposed brick and the gable above it, it is set against the glowing San Gabriel Mountains. Even the yet-unidentified muralist never saw it bathed in the light of golden hour.
“It’s truly a miracle,” Garroway said, “arisen from the ashes.”
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