KAM Isaiah Israel | The Most Beautiful Places in Chicago with Geoffrey Baer

KAM Isaiah Israel

A Byzantine-style synagogue in Hyde Park serves as the house of worship for Chicago’s oldest Jewish congregation and is jam-packed with Chicago historical connections. Kehilath Anshe Ma’arav (KAM) was first established in 1847, making it just ten years younger than the city of Chicago itself. In 1971, KAM merged with Temple Isaiah Israel and moved into its Hyde Park synagogue, giving the congregation the name it still bears today. The synagogue, designed by well-known Chicago architect Alfred Alschuler, who was also Jewish, was completed in 1924. The KAM congregation once called another Bronzeville synagogue that was designed by Louis Sullivan and Dankmar Adler home. That synagogue would later become the historic Pilgrim Baptist Church, where gospel music was born. In 1977, KAM Isaiah Israel was named a Chicago landmark. Today, it sits just across the street from the Chicago residence of former President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama.