Obj. ID: 16119
Jewish Architecture Jewish school in Bila Tserkva, Ukraine
The Jewish School of Belaia Tserkov, 42 Bogdana Khmel’nitskogo Street, is a typical Russian provincial bureaucratic structure of the late 19th century, built and decorated in brick. The front portion of the building - the main facade and the side bays of the head structure - are strongly decorated, while the classroom portions extending back into the depth of the lot is only slightly architecturally inflected.
The main northwest facade, four bays wide with a central bay marked by the porte-cochere on the first floor and a more monumental decorative treatment on the upper story, contains in a cartouche the construction date of 1901. It is capped by a stepped-gable emphasizing its importance and centrality. The flanking bays are identical: on the first floor, a square-headed window with a sturdy hood molding. It extends approximately halfway down the window where it joins a course running almost completely around the building. There is a change in fenestration about a quarter the way along the classroom side facades. On the head house, the bays are separated by smooth rustication - that of the lower floors being slightly smaller. The upper floor bays comprise a round-headed window with decorative details emphasizing each bay. Behind the head house, on the lower floors, the window style repeats while on the upper floor, square-headed windows are introduced.
The internal form is seemingly well preserved. The upper floor of the head house contains what appears to have been the synagogue space of the school, though little evidence for it remains. A single double-loaded corridor extends back through the building. Two staircases, on the northern side of the building, approximately divide it in thirds.
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