Palo Alto’s Congregation Etz Chayim, which is celebrating 30 years since its founding, is also marking the completion this summer of a yearslong series of renovations and upgrades to its building.
Built in 1963 as a YWCA, the site became Etz Chayim’s home just over two decades ago. But it had since lost its luster, said Ellen Bob, the synagogue’s executive director.
“We’re not a fancy synagogue, but people wanted it nice,” Bob said. “They wanted to feel proud of it and not be embarrassed. It was getting a little decrepit around the edges.”
The carpets were old and stained, and the walls needed a fresh coat of paint. A sign in the backyard read, “Be careful, uneven pavement.” The kitchen was uncomfortably narrow.
“Working at both counters, we’d bump each other’s butts, which is a little bit more intimate than you want to be,” Bob joked about the kitchen.
Etz Chayim was founded by 12 families in 1995 as a Reform congregation. It became independent several years later and remains so. The YWCA site, which it purchased in 2004, was its first (and so far only) permanent home. The sanctuary, previously the YWCA’s dance studio, was renovated when Etz Chayim moved in and wasn’t included in the latest round of improvements.
The congregation launched a capital campaign in 2021 and exceeded its goal of $4 million, raising more than $4.2 million from 80% of Etz Chayim’s 350 member families.
Its first phase of upgrades, which included transitioning the HVAC system from gas to electric, was completed in 2023. Over the past year, the synagogue also updated the kitchen, yard, entrance, storage, bathrooms and parking lot. Those changes included replacing the ramp to the front doors and upgrading parking spaces to meet Americans with Disabilities Act requirements.
Such upgrades aren’t flashy or exciting, Bob said, but donors understood the necessity. She recalled that one major donor said, “I’m just investing in the next generation of Jews in Palo Alto.”
The project wrapped up this summer. The kitchen is now wider and has a second sink. “A few people are talking about starting cooking classes,” Bob said, with more folks now able to fit in the kitchen.
The ceiling light fixtures in the sanctuary and library also got a facelift. “We had paper lantern covers that we bought at Ikea because 20 years ago, we ran out of money for light fixtures,” Bob said.
The most eye-catching part of Etz Chayim’s renovation is outside the building. The landscaping was redesigned and filled with native plants. In the back, a large pavilion with a cedar wood ceiling and stone pillars can host outdoor services and meals. The wood was chosen to evoke the “cedars of Lebanon,” Bob said, and the pavilion stone is reminiscent of that used in Jerusalem.
A serendipitous connection surfaced during the renovation. Frank York is president of W.L. Butler, a Redwood City contractor hired by Etz Chayim. When he was a teen, the YWCA was part of the weekly cleaning route at the janitorial company he worked for.
“It’s like a walk down memory lane for me,” York said of working at the site again. “The building means a lot to me. [Etz Chayim] means a lot to me. They do a lot of good work in the community.”