Meyerland Area Synagogue Demolished Monday

HOUSTON, TX — The United Orthodox Synagogues campus near Meyerland was demolished Monday morning after enduring a third flood in three years with Hurricane Harvey last summer. A final service was held at the Orthodox Jewish synagogue at 9001 Greenwillow Street in February.

"I think we all will be saying a special prayer to give everybody strength and fortitude to continue on," Linda Freedman Block told KTRK. Freedman Block is a long-time member whose relatives helped build the synagogue decades ago. "It's like any place that you love, that you spend a lot of time in."

The congregation of more than 300 nearby families decided last December to demolish the building after water damaged everything from offices to classrooms, the main building and the sanctuary. Water damaged religious texts and thousands of prayer books.

"We will continue to be a religious center for the Jewish community of Houston," said Rabbi Barry Gelman. "The only question is, what the new building is going to look like. Where precisely it's going to be."

The next task is to raise about $6 million and try to find another nearby location to rebuild since many Orthodox Jews usually don't drive on the Sabbath. That could mean either around the block or elevating and rebuilding on the current site, according to the ABC 13 report.

The synagogue was more than a place of worship. It was the site of countless weddings, funerals, baby namings and bar mitzvahs.

As for the members, it's a way to start over. Some see it as a rebirth.

"The synagogue is not really just about the building," Freedman Block said. "It's really the people in it."

(Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)