| Synagogue/Society Description: |
Anshe Sholom B'nai Israel Congregation was founded in 1870 as Ohave Sholom (Lovers of Peace) by a group of Lithuanian Jewish families primarily from Marijampolė, Lithuania. This congregation is considered to be the oldest Orthodox congregation still existing in Chicago. In 1892, the congregation merged with the Anshe Kalvarier shul (whose building had been demolished when 12th Street, now Roosevelt Road, was widened) and adopted the name, "Anshe Sholom Congregation. In 1910, They moved west into a new shul building at Polk and Ashland. In 1920's opened a branch on Homan Ave.; late 1930's opened a branch at Melrose & built in 1959. In 1960, the last few members of Congregation B'nai Israel gave up on Old Town, ceased operations in the 1300 block of Sedgwick Street, and the shul became "Lakeview Anshe Sholom B'nai Israel." Two years later, the long postwar decline of the Old West Side brought an end to the main Anshe Sholom Congregation on Independence Boulevard, and it too merged, creating the present shul's name.
|
