The only museum dedicated to Florida's Jewish experience from 1763 to the present opened in 1995. The Museum is housed in Ira Giller's award-winning restoration of an Art Deco synagogue designed by Henry Hohauser in 1936. Especially noteworthy are its 80 stained glass windows, a marble bimah, Art Deco chandeliers and sconces, and a Moorish copper dome.

The Museum features a Collections and Research Center, the core exhibit MOSAIC: Jewish Life in Florida, changing exhibits and a Jewish history timeline. It also offers guided tours, films, a store and public programs. Researchers will find an extensive collection of photos, documents, artifacts and audio taped histories.

The Museum is an outgrowth of the MOSAIC project, a grassroots effort initiated in 1984 to find and exhibit material evidence of the Jewish experience in Florida. This statewide project involved the participation of thousands of Floridians. The traveling MOSAIC exhibit was shown in 11 Florida cities, Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia from 1990 through 1994.

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