CreditJoshua Lott for The New York Times
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Not long ago, the oldest synagogue in this college town underwent a $1 million restoration. The building, to the relief of many, was salvaged from disrepair and possible demolition. But in the process, its character was markedly changed.
Today, atop rows of red brick, the interlocking triangles of the Star of David sit alongside the interlacing ovals of the Toyota logo. At the delicately refurbished bimah, where the Torah was read aloud to congregants for close to a century, clerks in uniform operate a busy cash register.