(originally posted 3/18/2012)
The fate of the former Anshe Kenesseth Israel Temple, at 3411-19 W. Douglas Blvd in Chicago, will be settled soon – perhaps even this week. Jews who came from the west side of Chicago would particularly lose a tangible historic reminder if the temple is removed from the North Lawndale streetscape. WBEZ blogger Lee Bey has been documenting its final days, and information about its status can be found at http://www.wbez.org/blogs/lee-bey.
In 1913, a Chicago congregation of West Side Jews exercised great care when designing and building Anshe Kenesseth Israel Temple. The temple affirmed its congregation’s commitment to creating a sacred, symbolic, and inspirational home for its members. The congregation chose to construct their building along an important thoroughfare in North Lawndale, Douglas Boulevard, to visibly mark its significance. The building’s important location and monumental design later drew others to the building. Even when the original congregation moved out, other congregations stepped into this special place of devotion and spirituality.
Although in a deteriorated state, the Anshe Kenesseth Israel Temple in North Lawndale embodies the history of Jewish immigrant settlement in Chicago, particularly West Side Jews. Perhaps we can make a case for why Anshe Kenesseth Israel should remain in our urban landscape. This special and sacred place was built to serve the religious needs of a community’s residents. It remains as a critical link to family and personal histories, telling important stories of the past. It is a tangible piece in interpreting the history of Chicago’s West Side Jews. For many residents and former residents, this religious building is a memorable and valued place where significant life events occurred.
I have heard stories of the West Side Jews for years, particularly from my late uncle and other family friends. Their stories were put into context for me in 2008, when I researched and co-authored “Ethnic (European) Historic Settlement in the City of Chicago (1860-1930),” a Multiple Property Nomination to the National Register of Historic Places. Much of the information below is from this document produced for the City of Chicago’s Landmarks Division in 2008. I hope officials don’t mind me presenting excerpts here, so that others may learn more about the temple’s historic context.
West Side Jews in North Lawndale
From the time of arrival in the 19th-century and continuing through most of the 20th century, early arriving German Jews and later Eastern European Jews established separate enclaves, temples for worship (typically Reformed vs. Orthodox), commercial districts, institutions and means of socialization. This schism has left a physical presence in the urban landscape and in histories conveyed by Chicago’s “South Side Jews” and the “West Side Jews.”
West Side Jews arrived from Eastern Europe, principally Russia, from the late 1870s through 1920. As religious persecution intensified in the Russian Empire by 1880, many Russian Jews looked for new freedoms in America. With dissimilar languages, more stringent religious beliefs, generally less education, and differing economic situation, the Eastern European Jews in Chicago created their own communities, synagogues, business districts, institutions and organizations, particularly on the West side. They did not settle in the established German Jewish areas, rather settling on Chicago’s Near West Side, concentrating in the Maxwell Street area. Maxwell Street became the major late 19th- and early 20th- century Russian Jewish enclave in the city. However, by 1915, Eastern European Jews were moving westward into North Lawndale which became the next center for West side Jewish life in the 1920s and 1930s.
Overcrowded conditions, industrial development, and upward mobility drove many Eastern European Jews from the Near West Side. Although some relocated to other Chicago neighborhoods, many Eastern European Jews arrived in North Lawndale beginning in the 1910s. North Lawndale, located five miles west of Chicago’s Loop, was strategically located near major industries that established themselves nearby in the late 19th-century and early 20th-century. One such industry was Sears, Roebuck & Company, whose mercantile complex employed many North Lawndale residents. The availability of jobs and recreational opportunities (particularly in Douglas Park), the stunning boulevards, and a building boom that generated numerous apartment buildings attracted Eastern European Jews to the area. In the 1920s, Russian Jews outnumbered all other ethnic groups in North Lawndale, and the neighborhood was labeled the “Chicago Jerusalem.” Today, their mark has been left in the community by the many synagogues, schools, commercial buildings, residential apartments, and institutional buildings that still remain.
The establishment of synagogues significantly marked the arrival of Jews into Chicago’s neighborhoods. The temple expressed a monumental physical presence in the urban landscape and served as a center for Jewish life. Upon founding, congregations typically met in existing buildings until a permanent home could be completed. Once completed, the construction of synagogues in the City of Chicago was frequently followed by the building of an adjacent school to further religious studies or Talmud Torah. Others built a combination classroom building/meeting hall for groups and events. As an upwardly mobile group, it was common for Jewish congregations to relocate as immigrant populations shifted from one neighborhood to another. The synagogue and accessory buildings would be sold or rented as they left the old neighborhood behind, and a new temple would be built in the new neighborhood. For this reason, it is not surprising that there may be more than one historic synagogue and/or accessory building in Chicago built by the same congregation at different points in their history.
Along the panoramic boulevards of North Lawndale, many Jewish congregations built elegant and well-appointed synagogues. Congregation Anshe Kenesseth Israel built one of the first synagogues in North Lawndale at 3411-19 West Douglas Boulevard. The architectural firm of Aroner & Somers designed a building for the congregation, seating 3,500, that was constructed in 1913. Congregation Beth Jacob built a synagogue designed by architect Abraham L. Himelblau in 1919-20 at 1446-48 South Drake Avenue. Also remaining is the First Romanian Congregation Synagogue, built at 3620-24 West Douglas Boulevard. This 1925-26 synagogue building was designed by architect J. W. Cohen & Company.
This phenomenon of Jewish migration within Chicago is reflected in the numerous buildings left behind as they moved in and out of neighborhoods. Today, Anshe Kenesseth Israel Temple, at 3411-19 W. Douglas Blvd in Chicago reflects this history in North Lawndale. Kudos to the hardworking historic preservationists, historians, and dedicated volunteers who want to save an important piece of Jewish history in Chicago.