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KAM Isaiah Israel
Hebrew: קהלת אנשי מערב
KAMIsaiahIsrael.jpg
KAM synagogue building, in 2021
Religion
Affiliation Reform Judaism
Ecclesiastical or organisational status Synagogue
Leadership Rabbi David Young
Status Active
Location
Location 1100 East Hyde Park Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois
Country United States
KAM Isaiah Israel is located in Chicago metropolitan area
KAM Isaiah Israel
Location in Chicago metropolitan area
Architecture
Architect(s)
  • Alfred S. Alschuler
  • John Alschuler
  • Ron Dirsmith
Architectural type Synagogue
Architectural style Byzantine Revival
Date established 1847 (as a congregation)
Completed 1924
Specifications
Direction of façade West
Capacity
  • 1,300 (sanctuary)
  • 400 (chapel)
Dome(s) Three (1 large; 2 small)
Spire(s) One (reminiscent of a minaret)
Designated June 9, 1977

KAM Isaiah Israel is a Reform Jewish congregation and synagogue located at 1100 East Hyde Park Boulevard in the historic Kenwood neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States. It is the oldest Jewish congregation in Chicago, with its oldest core founded in 1847 as Kehilath Anshe Ma'arav (Hebrew: קהלת אנשי מערב, lit. 'Congregation of the Men of the West').

History

The congregation Kehilath Anshe Ma'arav ("Congregation of the Men of the West") was founded on November 3, 1847, at the wholesale dry-goods store of Levi Rosenfeld and Jacob Rosenberg located at 155 East Lake Street by twenty men, many of whom hailed from Bavaria. At the time, this section of the Chicago Loop was the center of the small Chicago Jewish community. The newly founded congregation was first housed above Rosenfeld and Rosenberg's store at Lake and Wells street. After increasing membership and lack of space, the congregation was soon forced to find a more suitable space to accommodate their growing community. A lot was leased at Clark and Quincy streets (now the site of the Kluczynski Federal Building), and construction of a small frame synagogue began. After an investment of $12,000, the one and a half story building, with a capacity of 450 people, was dedicated on June 13, 1851. After only two years, their land lease had expired, forcing the congregation to move the new building to Adams and Wells in 1853. Unscathed by the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, KAM's synagogue building was burned down in the Chicago Fire of 1874.

In 1890, KAM moved into its Louis Sullivan and Dankmar Adler designed temple in Bronzeville, and in 1924 moved again to a private residence in Hyde Park. The former synagogue became the Pilgrim Baptist Church, the birthplace of Gospel music. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973, designated a Chicago Landmark in 1981, and partially destroyed by fire in 2006. In 1971, KAM merged with another Reform congregation, Isaiah Israel (builders of the present synagogue), to become KAM Isaiah Israel.

The synagogue is situated in the Kenwood neighborhood of Chicago, an area known for its large homes and well-to-do residents, such as Barack Obama (who lives across from the synagogue on Greenwood Avenue) and Muhammad Ali. Built in the Byzantine Revival style, the minaret is not on top of the dome as it appears in this photo, but rather it is atop a tower that functions as a chimney, behind the building. Built for the Isaiah Israel congregation in 1924, the structure was designed by Alfred S. Alschuler, who drew his influence from photographs of the second-century Severus synagogue unearthed at Tiberias, in Galilee. The extensions were designed by architects John Alschuler (the son of Alfred) and Ron Dirsmith. The building was designated an official Chicago Landmark on June 9, 1977.

Notable members

See also

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