Beth Jacob was the first Jewish congregation founded on Miami Beach (1927) and is its oldest synagogue (1929). It was located well south of 5th Street, the northernmost boundary of where Jews were allowed to settle. In 1936, the congregation built a larger synagogue at 301 Washington Avenue and used the first building as a social hall. However, changing population patterns on the Beach and declining congregation membership forced Beth Jacob to retrench and return to the original building in 1986. In 1994, this larger building was leased to the Sanford L. Ziff JEWISH MUSEUM OF FLORIDA, which restored the building.

Information courtesy of Florida Division of Historical Resources, a division of Florida Department of State.