Chicago's Jewish congregations founded in the nineteenth century have the longevity and complicated history of division and unification to illustrate the remarkable geographical mobility of the city's Jewish communities. Unlike Catholic churches, synagogues are local independent bodies free to locate and relocate at will. The patterns of synagogue location, when mapped, reveal complex sequences of economic improvement, better housing, and social acceptance within the spatial evolution of Chicago's neighborhoods. Early concentrations near downtown broke up as congregations moved south, west, and north. Eventually, the westward and southward migrating congregations abandoned their sectoral drift and relocated to northern neighborhoods and the suburbs beyond. Of these early congregations, only three remain on the far South Side, none on the city's West Side, whereas twelve remain on the North Side. Three foresook the city for suburban sites, where many congregations founded in the twentieth century are also to be found.

Author: Michael P. Conzen
Source: Newberry Library