Beth Hamedrosh Hagodel

Beth Hamedrash was founded in 1866, and combined with another new congregation, B’nai Jacob, the following year. The first synagogue was at 134 Pacific Ave. According to Meites' History of the Jews of Chicago, it purchased a temple from B’nai Sholom at Michigan and 14th in 1886. After meeting at that location for several years, it moved back to 134 Pacific until 1902. At that time, the congregation decided to split into two, with a congregation on the South Side and another on the West Side.

The South Side congregation built a temple at Wabash and 35th.

The West Side congregation did not have a permanent location for the period 1902-1915; during that time it met a a number of locations near the 800 block of Maxwell. The congregation finally established a temple at Douglas and St. Louis in 1915.

In the 1920s, this congregation merged with Tifereth Yisroel Anshe Luknik and became Beth Hamedrash Hagodol UB'Nai Jacob Anshe Luknik.

The congregation was located at Douglas and St. Louis until 1955. In that year, it merged with Congregation Kesser Maariv at Greenwood and Devon and merged to that location. The combined congregation was called Beth Hamedrash Hagodol Kesser Maariv Anshe Luknik. The Chicago Tribune covered the merger in an article published Sept. 4, 1955.