Zion Congregation

This congregation was founded in 1864, and was the first congregation on the west side of the river. The first Rabbi was Bernard Felsenthal.

In 1885, the congregation moved to a new temple at Ogden and Washington, from its previous location at Jackson and Sangamon. There is a photograph of this location in the Chicago Daily News photograph collection of the Chicago History Museum.

The congregation merged with Congregation B'nai Abraham in 1918, and the merged congregation met at Karlov and Washington.

The building at Ogden and Washington was destroyed in a fire on Nov. 25, 1930, according to the Tribune of that date.

There is a brief history of this congregation in the online version of the Jewish Encyclopedia of 1906.

This congregation merged with Congregation B'nai Abraham in 1918, and the merged congregation subsequently moved to Oak Park, and is now Oak Park Temple B'nai Abraham Zion. Their website has a brief history of this congregation.

Public domain thumbnail image from The Jews of Illinois (Chicago : Bloch & Newman, 1901), page 340. Available through the Internet Archive.