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
Affiliation	Orthodox Judaism
Ecclesiastical or organisational status	Synagogue
Status	Active
Notable artworks	Abraham Rattner stained-glass windows; Nehemia Azaz sculpture
Location
Location	16 South Clark Street, Loop, Chicago, Illinois 60603
Country	United States
Location in the Chicago Loop, Illinois
Geographic coordinates	41°52′54″N 87°37′53″W / 41.88167°N 87.63139°W / 41.88167; -87.63139
Architecture
Architect(s)	Loebl, Schlossman & Bennett
Type	Synagogue
Style	Modernist
Date established	1929 (as a congregation)
Completed	1958
Specifications
Site area	5,000 square feet (460 m^2)
Materials	Glass, 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 ^[a] 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

•  Chicago portal
•  Judaism portal
•  Architecture portal

• Chicago Loop
• History of the Jews in Chicago
• Landmarks of Chicago
• Visual arts of Chicago

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.

External links

• Official website
• Buildings: Chicago Loop Synagogue PBS (video clip)