Moses Montefiore Congregation

The Moses Montefiore Congregation is a Reform Jewish congregation and synagogue located at 102 Robinhood Lane in Bloomington, Illinois, in the United States.

Moses Montefiore Congregation
Religion
Affiliation	Reform Judaism
Ecclesiastical or organisational status	Synagogue
Leadership	Rabbi Rebecca L. Dubowe
Status	Active
Location
Location	102 Robinhood Lane, Bloomington, Illinois 61701
Country	United States
Location in Illinois
Geographic coordinates	40°29′29″N 88°57′59″W
Architecture
Architect(s)	George Miller (1889)
Type	Synagogue
Style	Romanesque Revival / Moorish Revival (1889)
Date established	1884 (as a congregation)
Completed	1889 (Monroe and Prairie Sts.) 1959 (Fairway Knolls)
Construction cost	$160,000 (1959)
Website
mosesmontefioretemple.org

History

Although Jews had arrived in Bloomington by the 1850s, the synagogue was organized in 1884 and named for Sir Moses Montefiore. On May 21, 1889, the congregation dedicated a Romanesque Revival / Moorish Revival synagogue building at the southeast corner of Monroe and Prairie Streets.^[1][2] It is one of the relatively few surviving 19th century synagogue buildings in the United States.^[3]

In 1959 the congregation moved to a new building in the Fairway Knolls neighborhood.^[1]

As of 1996^[update] the Monroe and Prairie Streets former synagogue building was used as a Baptist church.^[4] Peter Warshaw purchased the property in 1993 and the former synagogue and former church was subsequently converted in a private residence. The new owners won the Landmarks Illinois 2001 Adaptive Reuse Award.^[5]

See also

• Chicago portal
• Judaism portal

• History of the Jews in Chicago

References

1. "Moses Montefiore Congregation". Archived from the original on February 25, 2009. Retrieved May 11, 2010.
2. "History of MMT". Moses Montefiore Congregation. Retrieved September 18, 2023.
3. Gordon, Mark W. (2019). "Recovering Jewish Infrastructure: Update on 19th Century Synagogues". American Jewish History. 84 (1) (update ed.): 11–27. ISSN 0164-0178.
4. Gordon, Mark W. (1986). "Rediscovering Jewish Infrastructure: The Legacy of U.S. 19th Century Synagogues". American Jewish History. 75 (3): 296–306. ISSN 0164-0178.
5. "Moses Montefiore Temple". Richard H. Driehaus Preservation Awards. Landmarks Illinois. 2001. Retrieved January 11, 2024.

External links

• Official website
• Image
• "Moses Montefiore Temple Collection". McLean County Museum of History.