The Jewish Hill District

The Hill District neighborhood was the center of Jewish life in Pittsburgh from the late 1880s into the early 1930s.

Located just uphill from a major train station, the Hill District was the first stop for many recent groups arriving in Pittsburgh at the turn of the century. The neighborhood was the center of Jewish life in Pittsburgh from the late 1880s into the early 1930s. In those years, it was home to around 20 synagogues, several Jewish community centers, hundreds of Jewish-owned businesses, and thousands of Jewish homes.

The neighborhood accommodated many expressions of Jewish identity: from religious to political, and from cultural to athletic to intellectual. With the rise into the Jewish middle class in the 1920s, Jewish families began leaving the Hill District for eastern neighborhoods including Squirrel Hill, East Liberty, and Oakland.

Explore the Jewish Hill District

The Jewish Home for the Aged (1906)Original Source: Jewish Criterion

The Jewish Home for the Aged, 1906

Rabbi Aaron Mordechai Ashinsky founded the Beth Moshab Zakainim—or Jewish Home of the Aged—in 1905, after a regional fundraising campaign. The Home provided a place to live for the indigent elderly, especially those who were religious.

The Jewish Home for the Aged moved to Squirrel Hill in the 1930s and remains active today as the Jewish Association on Aging.

Merchants Savings and Trust Co. (2019) by Eric LidjiOriginal Source: Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Merchants Savings and Trust Co.

Although never Jewish-owned, the Merchants Savings and Trust Company was one of the first banks in Pittsburgh to market directly to the Jewish community.

The bank advertised in the local Jewish newspaper, provided financing for local synagogues, donated to local Jewish charities, and was patronized by Jewish customers throughout the Hill District and other parts of the city.

The Labor Lyceum (2017) by Eric LidjiOriginal Source: Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

The Labor Lyceum

Local branches of the international Jewish fraternal organization the Workmen’s Circle dedicated the Labor Lyceum in 1917 as a home for Jewish labor activity in the Hill District.

The three-story building had offices, a lecture hall, a public library, and community spaces. It was a meeting place for at least 15 Jewish labor, fraternal, political, cultural, and philanthropic organizations.

The Labor Lyceum also had a dramatic club, a choir, and a Yiddish secular school. It closed in 1930, but the building remained an important meeting space for African American groups.

The Hill District was home to more than 20 synagogues between 1890 and 1925, and many more small houses of prayer.

Kether Torah (1921)Original Source: Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Kether Torah, 1921

Kether Torah was founded in 1907 by Jewish immigrants from the Volinia region of Russia and built its synagogue on Webster Avenue in 1921. It relocated to Squirrel Hill in 1958 and remains active today.

Rabbi Aaron Mordechai AshinskyOriginal Source: Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Rabbi Aaron Mordechai Ashinsky

Known as the Chief Rabbi of Greater Pittsburgh, Rabbi Aaron Mordechai Ashinski came to Pittsburgh in 1901 to oversee Beth Hamedrash Hagodol and eventually assumed advisory roles at several other congregations in the Hill District.

A brilliant organizer, Rabbi Aaron Mordechai Ashinski helped found several of the most prominent Jewish social services and educational institutions in the neighborhood.

Rabbi Moshe Shimon SivitzOriginal Source: Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Rabbi Moshe Shimon Sivitz

Rabbi Moshe Shimon Sivitz was one of the earliest Orthodox rabbis in Pittsburgh and an important force in maintaining religious continuity as Jewish immigrants arrived in the Hill District from Europe.

He founded the first yeshiva in the city and oversaw one of its large synagogues, Shaare Torah Congregation. He was a highly regarded scholar and published numerous religious works.

Yehoash Folk School (1929)Original Source: Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Yehoash Folk School, 1929

The Yehoash Folk School was one of at least eight Yiddish secular schools in Pittsburgh. These schools were designed to promote a sense of Jewish identity outside of a religious framework, focusing on language, history, and culture.

The Yehoash Folk School occupied numerous locations throughout the Hill District before relocating to Squirrel Hill. It closed in the mid-1930s.

Young Men's Hebrew Association (1916)Original Source: Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Young Men's Hebrew Association, 1916

Eager for a place where young Jews could congregate on their own terms, a small group founded the Young Men's Hebrew Association in 1911.

The group moved around for years before purchasing a former Elk's Lodge in 1916. The building remained the home of the group for a decade, until it built new facilities on Bellefield Street in Oakland.

Zionist InstituteOriginal Source: Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Zionist Institute

The Zionist Institute was established in 1903 as a response to concerns among traditionally minded Jews about the Americanization activities at the Columbian Council.

Located on the same block as the the Irene Kaufmann Settlement, the two organizations offered many of the same amenities.

As the Irene Kaufmann Settlement House gained the trust of the Jewish community, the Zionist Institute's influence waned. It eventually sold its property to the Lando Theater.

Lando Theater (1928)Original Source: Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Lando Theater, 1928

Pittsburgh was one of about a dozen American cities with a theatre dedicated entirely to Yiddish productions. The Lando Theater showed Yiddish plays and films and hosted Jewish community gatherings from 1928 until around 1942.

Beth Hamedrash HagodolOriginal Source: Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Beth Hamedrash Hagodol

Beth Hamedrash Hagodol is the oldest Orthodox congregation in Pittsburgh and the only congregation to still maintain a synagogue in the greater Hill District area.

Founded in 1869 by Jewish immigrants from Lithuania, it became a major religious center in the neighborhood until it was damaged in a fire and demolished as part of urban renewal activity in the neighborhood.

The Forward (1928)Original Source: Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

The Forward, 1928

The Forward was the largest Yiddish newspaper in the world. At its height, it maintained regional offices in major Jewish communities throughout the country, including the Hill District of Pittsburgh.

The local offices handled advertisements and small news items. The Pittsburgh office was run for many years by Bess Topolsky, seen here seated at the desk in the center of the room.

Stogie FactoryOriginal Source: Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Stogie Factory

Stogie making was a common profession among recent Jewish immigrants to the Hill District.

As "piece work," where workers were paid by the unit rather than the hour, it offered flexibility not found in industrial work, allowing religious Jews to observe the Sabbath.

But the working conditions in stogie sweatshops were dangerous and uncomfortable, and the pay was meager, and child labor was rampant, leading to a pair of strikes in 1912 and 1913.

Fifth Avenue High School (June 6, 1916)Original Source: Detre Library & Archives at the Heinz History Center

Fifth Avenue High School, June 6, 1916

Fifth Avenue High School was built in 1894 for children living in the lower and middle Hill District, making it an important educational center for Jewish teenagers in the neighborhood in the early 20th century.

In addition to daytime classes for youths, the school was home to popular English language evening classes for adults.

Montefiore Hospital (1909) by Photo Products Co.Original Source: Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Montefiore Hospital, 1909

Montefiore Hospital opened in 1908, following ten years of fundraising conducted by Jewish women in the Hill District.

The hospital addressed two areas of discrimination: against Jewish medical students who struggled to secure residencies early in their careers and against Jewish patients who had specific language and cultural needs.

Jewish in character, the hospital served patients of all backgrounds and ethnicities. It relocated to Oakland in 1928.

The Hebrew Institute (1921)Original Source: Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

The Hebrew Institute, 1921

Built in 1916 after years of fundraising, the Hebrew Institute modernized Jewish education in Pittsburgh. It introduced modern curricula and language training, and it included young girls and children from remote neighborhoods.

It remained in the Hill District until 1943, when it relocated to Squirrel Hill.

The Irene Kaufmann Settlement House (1916)Original Source: Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

The Irene Kaufmann Settlement House, 1916

The Irene Kaufmann Settlement House was the center of Jewish social life in the Hill District.

Founded as a small schoolhouse, it expanded into a six-story settlement house in 1911, thanks to a gift from the family behind Kaufmann's Department Store. The IKS offered health care, language and job training workshops, cultural programming, and athletic events.

As the demographics of the neighborhood changed, the building was given to the African American community and the institution relocated to Squirrel Hill.

The Irene Kaufmann Settlement House auditorium (July 12, 1932)Original Source: Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Irene Kaufmann Settlement House auditorium, July 12, 1932

The Irene Kaufmann Settlement House expanded in the late 1920s when it dedicated an auditorium. The new building was among the largest cultural venues in the Hill District. It hosted plays, assemblies, political speeches, and neighborhood gatherings.

Logan Street (1922)Original Source: Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Logan Street, 1922

Logan Street was the commercial heart of the Jewish Hill District. The steeply graded street included bakers, butchers, grocers, and dry goods merchants, with families living on the upper floors.

Young People's Zionist League (April 17, 1920)Original Source: Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Young People's Zionist League, April 17, 1920

The Young People's Zionist League was created in 1916 during a revival of Zionist activity during World War I. The group raised funds and awareness of Zionist activities and hosted lectures, meetings, and social events for young people in the Hill District.

Credits: Story

Learn more about the Rauh Jewish Archives & History Program at the Heinz History Center.

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