Summer 2010

On the corner of 6th and I streets, Northwest, sits a building that served as a Conservative synagogue, then became an African Methodist Episcopal Church, and then was nearly converted to a nightclub. The first wedding ever held there was that of a Wright Brothers test pilot, in 1907. Today, as it was a century ago, the Sixth & I Historic Synagogue is a hub of social activity—if there’s not a concert underway, there’s probably a Hebrew class, a “Milkshake Mixer” or an evening of trivia.

Chuck Wagner

6th and I Historic Synagogue Location: 600 I Street, NW Roofing: Removed, salvaged and relayed tile on domes. Replaced all deteriorated rafters, purlins and sheathing under domes and metal roofs. Installed new 20-ounce copper over flat portion of roof and 16-ounce standing seam over sloped portions.

“Back when it opened, this neighborhood was the center of Jewish life in D.C.,” says Shelton Zuckerman, one of the three local businessmen who saved the building from becoming a nightclub. “And today, we’ve turned it into a new model, open to everyone. It’s now a national and international model for engagement.”

Throughout its colorful history, the synagogue (whose sanctuary draws on Moorish and Byzantine influences) has remained one of the most beautiful structures in the city.

Sixth and I Synagogue photo taken in 2006.

And for nearly four decades, Wagner Roofing has been involved with it, in various ways. Most recently, Wagner replaced deteriorated rafters and installed new purlins (a horizontal beam in a roof structure that supports the common rafters) and a new copper roof. All three of the building’s domes were restored, during which the crew salvaged the original clay tiles. Wagner also installed new rafters, drains and base plates. Finally, the crew developed a system so the building’s operations manager could easily change the light bulbs inside the large dome, accessing them from roof, through six-foot-tall stained glass windows (rather than trying to reach the bulbs from inside the sanctuary).

Wagner’s Bob Wooldridge led the project with a seven-man crew that began work in January, working around weddings, bar/bat mitzvahs and all the weekday events that are held at Sixth & I. They took off two weeks during the early 2010 blizzards but otherwise worked in achingly cold and blisteringly hot weather, sometimes watching the thermometer on the roof (where the sun is reflected off the copper) hit 120 degrees by 8:30 a.m.

“Despite extreme weather conditions, Wagner has done a great job helping to preserve the synagogue through roofing artistry,” says John Stranix of Stranix Associates, the owner’s representative (who has served the same role at Nationals Park and the Corcoran Gallery of Art). “Wagner’s master craftsmen rebuilt the classic domes of this iconic building and coppered the roof to perfection. Their work will ensure that the building will be here for generations to come.”

Melanie Kaplan Shelton Zuckerman congratulates Wagner’s team on progress of renovations. From Left: Bob Wooldridge, Chuck Wagner, Shelton Zuckerman, Lindsay Keiser and project manager Kevin Morgan

Chuck Wagner says it’s been an honor working on a synagogue with so much history—and one that his father once repaired (with the younger Wagner working as a helper). “The developers are committed to doing the restoration correctly,” he says. “This building is a real treasure in Washington.”

When construction began on the synagogue in 1906, it became the District’s first experience with poured-in-place concrete. After serving a thriving community for several decades, the Adas Israel congregation moved to Cleveland Park and sold the building to the Turner Memorial African Methodist Episcopal Church in 1951. The church contacted Jack Wagner, Sr. (Chuck’s father) in 1959 to help replace the steel nails on the domes. In 2002, when the church decided to move to Prince George’s County, the building was sold to three local developers: Zuckerman, Douglas Jemal and the late Washington Wizards owner Abe Pollin.

Chuck Wagner Completed Southeast Dome

The sanctuary still has its original 1908 carved oak benches, and most of its original stained glass. The 31 by 36-inch original copper Star of David, placed on the roof in 1908, was replicated by Wagner in 2004 to mark the rededication of the synagogue.

Zuckerman says there is something about the space that makes it hard for people to leave. Maybe it’s the architecture, the remarkable acoustics or the interior warmth—but it’s happened to artists, speakers and even a former president.

“George W. Bush was here [in 2005], and I was talking to him about the coziness of the space,” Zuckerman says. “And he agreed that new churches are so big, with no sense of community. He didn’t want to leave.” Zuckerman says the sanctuary is proof that architecture impacts the way people feel. But people also come for the strong sense of community. High holiday services every year generate a long waiting list, and in a short time, it has become one of the they city’s favorite spots for the arts.

As he sits in the building’s green room, which is dedicated to his grandmother, Leah, Zuckerman says Sixth & I has been an adventure he never expected in his wildest dreams. “I’m not religious, but what I do care about, and what Abe cared about, is Jewish life and culture. We wanted to keep that alive.”