Loop Synagogue

The Chicago Loop Synagogue is an Orthodox Jewish synagogue, located at 16 South Clark Street, in the Loop precinct of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States. Completed in 1958,[3] the synagogue is renowned for a stained glass artwork by Abraham Rattner.[1]: 72 

Chicago Loop Synagogue
Religion
AffiliationOrthodox Judaism
Ecclesiastical or organisational statusSynagogue
StatusActive
Notable artworks
  • Abraham Rattner stained-glass windows;
  • Nehemia Azaz sculpture
Location
Location16 South Clark Street, Loop, Chicago, Illinois 60603
CountryUnited States
Loop Synagogue is located in Chicago Loop
Loop Synagogue
Location in the Chicago Loop, Illinois
Geographic coordinates41°52′54″N 87°37′53″W
Architecture
Architect(s)Loebl, Schlossman & Bennett
TypeSynagogue
StyleModernist
Date established1929 (as a congregation)
Completed1958
Specifications
Site area5,000 square feet (460 m2)
MaterialsGlass, metal (brass and bronze} and concrete
Website
chiloopsyn.org
[1]: 104 [2]

The synagogue was founded in 1929 by the United Synagogue of America to serve the needs of Jewish professionals working in Chicago’s downtown business district, providing kosher food and a place to pray during the workday. Following the COVID-19 global pandemic, there were concerns that, due to the exodus of workers from the city center, the synagogue would be unable to sustain its future operating costs.[4][5][6][7]

Architecture and design

The building was designed by architects Loebl, Schlossman & Bennett, who also designed the Richard J. Daley Center.[8][9] Completed in 1958, the synagogue building replaced a synagogue on the same block that had been lost to fire.[2]

A sculpture Hands of Peace by Nehemia Azaz is situated over the entrance doors.[1]: 105  The work depicts "priestly hands raised in benediction" (the Priestly Blessing).[10]

Let There Be Light

Abraham Rattner's 30 ft × 40 ft (9.1 m × 12.2 m) Let There Be Light [lower-alpha 1] occupies the entire eastern wall of the second-floor sanctuary. It stands in juxtaposition to the "reserved minimalism" of the rest of the interior.[2] The art depicts images from Genesis 1:3 and Jewish religious symbols including a menorah, a shofar and an etrog. Additional influences include kabbalistic symbolism of "the force and the spirit of the ineffable and unknowable power".[11]: 114–115 

It was described as "[p]erhaps the most beautiful synagogue interior in the United States".[12] Another critic said the glass "bathes the sanctuary in a shower of color, artistically consecrating the space as a place apart from the grey concrete scene on the other side of the glass".[13]

See also

Notes
  1. Also listed as And God Said, Let There Be Light[11]: 112  and The Journey of a Mystic[12]

References
  1. Chiat, Marilyn Joyce (2004). The Spiritual Traveler—Chicago and Illinois: A Guide to Sacred Sites and Peaceful Places. Hidden Spring. ISBN 978-1-58768-010-6 – via Google Books.
  2. "Chicago Loop Synagogue". Open House Chicago. n.d. Retrieved May 26, 2018.
  3. Lavine, Eileen (January 13, 2016), "Jewish Routes: Chicago", Moment
  4. Cooper, Alanna E. (April 15, 2021). "Future in question for Chicago Loop Synagogue and its monumental stained-glass window". The Forward. Retrieved January 9, 2024.
  5. Chiarito, Bob (May 17, 2021). "Downtown Synagogue Hopes Worshippers Return Soon To Save Building — And Its Famed Stained Glass Window". Block Club Chicago. Retrieved January 9, 2024.
  6. "THREATENED: Shrinking Membership Threatens Chicago Loop Synagogue Faces Uncertain Future". Preservation Chicago. May 31, 2021. Retrieved January 9, 2024.
  7. Smithson, Aaron (June 8, 2021). "With commuter congregation waning, the Chicago Loop Synagogue faces an uncertain future". The Architect's Newspaper. Retrieved January 9, 2024.
  8. Cutler, Irving (1996). The Jews of Chicago: From Shtetl to Suburb. University of Illinois Press. p. 175. ISBN 0252021851 – via Google Books.
  9. "Daley Center". Chicago Architecture Foundation.
  10. "Hands of Peace by Henri Azaz", Chicago Loop: A New Walking Tour, WTTW
  11. Baigell, Matthew (2007). Jewish Art in America: An Introduction. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-0742546417 – via Google Books.
  12. de Breffny, Brian (1978). The Synagogue (First American ed.). Macmillan. pp. 199–200. OCLC 1031770403.
  13. "Let There be Light by Abraham Rattner". Chicago Loop: A New Walking Tour. WTTW. Retrieved May 26, 2018.

Further reading
  • Wolfe, Gerard R. (2004). Chicago in and Around the Loop: Walking Tours of Architecture and History (Second ed.). McGraw-Hill. pp. 414–415. ISBN 0071422366. OCLC 951323502.
  • Frystak, Alyssa (207). "Chicago Loop Synagogue" (PDF). Historical American Building Survey: HABS No. IL-343 – via ShulCloud.
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