| Pacific Jewish Center | |
|---|---|
 The synagogue on theVenice Boardwalk, 2009 | |
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Orthodox Judaism |
| Ecclesiastical or organizational status | Synagogue |
| Leadership | Rabbi Shalom Rubanowitz |
| Status | Active |
| Location | |
| Location | 505 Ocean Front Walk,Venice,Los Angeles,California 90291 |
| Country | United States |
  Location in westernLos Angeles | |
| Coordinates | 33°59′35″N118°28′44″W / 33.993°N 118.479°W /33.993; -118.479 |
| Architecture | |
| Established | c. 1940s(as Bay Cities Synagogue) |
| Completed | 1925(power station completed) |
| Website | |
| pjcenter | |
ThePacific Jewish Center, abbreviated asPJC and also known as theShul on the Beach, is anOrthodoxJewishsynagogue located at 505 Ocean Front Walk, inVenice,Los Angeles,California, in the United States. The synagogue is known for its outreach to unaffiliated and disconnected Jews.[1][2] The Shul remains the last of the synagogues built in Venice during the first part of the 20th century. Although an Orthodox synagogue,[3] worshippers who identify themselves as many different denominations are all welcomed when attending services and other events due to its location in an eclectic neighborhood.
The 1925 building, originally apower station, was identified as aCity of Los Angeles landmark.[4]
Pacific Jewish Center was established as Bay Cities Synagogue in the 1940s.[5] The congregation was one of several synagogues established in Venice Beach in the 1920s (two others also on the Venice boardwalk).[5] All except this one, and Mishkon Tefilo,[6] had disappeared by the late 1960s. The membership had gradually dwindled until there was hardly aminyan available. However in 1977, a group of young, Orthodox Jews led byMichael Medved andRabbi Daniel Lapin re-established the community and it soon became the nexus of Orthodox outreach in Los Angeles for the next decade.[7] Lapin was the unpaid rabbi of the congregation from 1978 to 1992.[8]
The Bar Mitzvah ofJason Gould, son ofBarbra Streisand andElliott Gould, was held at the shul.[9]
An attempt led by the Pacific Jewish Center to construct aneruv in the Venice Beach neighborhood met with opposition from the Sierra Club and others concerned with impacts to birds or disruption to esthetics of the beach.[10] TheCalifornia Coastal Commission conditionally approved the project in late 2006.[11]
... the Pacific Jewish Center, an Orthodox synagogue in Venice Beach,…
