If present plans materialize, the new Jewish Community Center at Vineyard Haven will be completed and ready for occupancy by the weekend, so that the observance of the Feast of the Passover, which occurs on the 16th of the month, may be held there with all the proper ceremonials belonging to this ancient Hebrew ritual.

The building, moved a short time ago from Church street to a site on Center street, is a dignified, two-story structure, once a dwelling house of severely plain but attractive colonial design. This has been carefully preserved, both inside and out, and the completed structure, situated as it is within spacious grounds, fits attractively into the neighborhood.

The auditorium, arranged so that it can be used for religious so social purposes, will have no fixed furnishings. It occupies the entire second floor, with the exception of a small room which will be used for the storage of such articles as will be employed in religious services. Opened to the outer walls on all four sides of the building, this auditorium still contains the old-fashioned woodwork, paneling beneath the windows, and a fireplace and mantel which heighten the colonial atmosphere. The floor is of hardwood and the ceiling of plaster board, decorated to relieve the expanse. The walls have been painted a pale blue and the woodwork is of cream. Lighting fixtures have not yet been installed, but these will be appropriate to the use to which the room will be put.

Old Stairway Preserved

From this auditorium, the old-fashioned stairway, preserved intact, sweeps gracefully down into the front hall where the antique wall paper, or reproduction, has been carefully preserved. To the right a door opens from the hall into the library, a cozy room where visitors may relax or meet for such small conferences as may occur from time to time. The walls of the library are of pale rose tint, with white wood trim.

Directly ahead, from the colonial entrance, is the entrance to the dining room, a spacious apartment, even more ancient in appearance than the rest of the building. The windows are low, the ceiling is beamed, and the walls are of cream. In the ceiling, carved above the point where the table will stand, are two representations of the Star of David, the Hebrew emblem, with its six points.

Lavatories open from the dining room, large and well-equipped, and in rear of the dining room is the kitchen, also well planned and arranged. The outer kitchen door opens on a porch, partially uncovered, the roof over a portion of it, forming a balcony accessible through a door from the auditorium. From this balcony a fire escape descends to the rear porch. This was not a part of the original plan, as not being consistent with the colonial design, but was required by law.

A large basement contains the heating plant, and also ample room for storage.

As yet the grounds are not completed, but sidewalks and curbing are under construction in preparation for the landscaping, and a semi-circular drive will be laid out extending past the front entrance.

A formal opening, and the holding of an open house to which the public may be invited, has been suggested by the committee members, but this has not been decided upon, nor has any official announcement been made. However this may develop, the Feast of the Passover will be the first use to which the building will be put, if it is possible to complete preparations before the sixteenth.